Raise the Right

The modern tradition of raising the right hand while taking an oath dates back to London in the 17th century. Unlike today’s society, there were no written criminal records for judges to know a person’s criminal history, and there were no set punishments for certain crimes. Thus, the judges at the time were able to choose from any punishment of their choosing, ranging from a simple pardon, to a death sentence. Sometimes, they opted for brandings, which entailed placing a branding iron on the defendant’s body. They could be branded with “F” if they were a felon, “M” for murderer, and other initials to indicate their crimes. Before the branding of hands became common, thieves in London were branded on the face, in the cheek area, but it was deemed to be too damaging to the convicts’ futures. If these criminals passed through the courts again, they were asked to raise their right hand, in order to allow the judge to see if they had any brandings. This would indicate whether or not they had committed any crimes in the past. The raising of the right hand has been a tradition in courtrooms ever since.