Do trzech razy sztuka, czyli koniec zbójeckiego żywota Mikołaja Puchalskiego

Abstract

In autumn 1716 Cracow witnessed the great trial of a chieftain of Beskid robbers, nobleman Antoni Złotkowski and his companions. One of the accused was Mikołaj Puchalski, who had been arrested together with Złotkowski. In the Cracow trial his participation in robberies was not proved and he could not be sentenced. We also know that this was not the only attempt to bring him to justice. Probably, he had been arrested earlier and detained in the castle prison in Nowy Wiśnicz, but also then there was not enough evidence against him. For the third time Puchalski stood trial in April 1717. It was again the criminal court of the city of Nowy Wiśnicz. This time his participation in several robberies was proved (mainly on the basis of his own testimony) and he was sentenced to beheading and corpse quartering. The materials collected during this last trial allow us to assume that earlier detentions of Puchalski were not groundless. Even if he did not actively participate in robberies, it is likely that he had at that time connections with the criminal world. It turns out that judges who then decided about his fate did not draw hasty conclusions and were fully aware of the necessity to prove the defendant guilty.