"The Catholic Church decided in the Middle Ages that too many people were getting convicted of crimes that they hadn’t committed. They instituted a rule that sa

"The Catholic Church decided in the Middle Ages that too many people were getting convicted of crimes that they hadn’t committed. They instituted a rule that said nobody could be convicted without either two eyewitnesses or a confession. Convictions became difficult to obtain. Since it was not possible to obtain extra witnesses, the Church decided to torture defendants until they confessed." That's unfortunatelly typical anti-church misconception that does not have any support neither in fact nor in common sense. Why Catholic church introduced demand for two wittnes, if they can do away without that condition??? Why they created obstacle for themselves??? As a matter of fact Catholic church introduced that condition to stop feudal unjustice and cruelty. That partly failed, since "civil power" started to use tortures. Catholic church created then Inquisition, so, at least, stupid monarch and feudal masters could not kill or burn people they did not like for heresy (Jews, for instance) and witchcraft. Note, that most anty-witches trials were in Protestant coutries. In Catholic countries (Poland, for instance), there was no "anty witches campaigns" and Jews from all over the Europe were moving to Poland in large numbers (or, to be more precise to Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth).