How William Penn’s Trial Forged Jury Independence The Shocking Story Behind Bushell’s Case

Added: 2026-05-25

[00:00:00]Trial by jury is a right that people take for granted today, but few realize where it comes from or the role that religious persecution played in its development. Here is part two of the remarkable true story of William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, who was repeatedly arrested and jailed for his religious beliefs. Life was dangerous for people of different religions in England in the 1600s. Church and state were united and the Anglican Church suppressed religious descent. The Conventicle Act made it a crime for anyone over the age of 16 to attend a non-Anglican religious service and unapproved assemblies were capped at five people. William Penn had joined the Quaker faith at the age of 22 and fearlessly preached his convictions even though it was illegal. On Sunday, August 14th, 1667, Penn went to the Quaker meeting house on Gracechurch Street and found it barricaded and the door guarded by soldiers. A crowd of 300 people stood outside. William Penn joined the Quakers in the street and began to speak to the people.

[00:01:05]As he began to preach, angry soldiers tried to arrest him, but the people were too tightly pressed together. When finished, Penn was arrested and hauled off to Newgate Prison and thrown into a cell for two weeks.

[00:01:18]On September 3rd, Penn was taken before the court. Penn and the judge argued back and forth in front of the jury about the charges and the evidence, after which Penn was thrown into the bail dock, a pit in the ground used to hold prisoners. The judge told the jury, "You've heard the charges and the evidence. What is your verdict?" The jury had watched the proceedings carefully and could tell that Penn was being abused by the court. They told the judge that Penn was not guilty. The judge was furious. As punishment, he confined the jury all night in a room without food or water and told them to have a more acceptable verdict in the morning. But, the next day, the brave jury returned to the judge once more and told him that Penn was not guilty. The judge, in a rage, ordered them confined again for another night, but the jury again declared Penn not guilty. So, the judge threw William Penn and the jury all in jail. The jury was fined 40 marks each and held till they paid. And it is out of this incredibly abusive process that we get the foundational decision called Bushel's Case about the independence of the jury. There is much more to the incredible true story of William Penn. Like and subscribe so you don't miss part three.