The Misnomer of Burning

In england and the english colonies, witches were treated like any other felon. Felonies were punished by hanging. So witches were hanged, not burned. The reason why burning was used in some cases was because witchcraft was considered a spiritual crime. For that reason, burning is considered to be very purifying for the soul. But financially, sometimes that was not feasible for a town to burn their witch.