The laws of the colony of Virginia enacted in 1612 says in section 9,
no man shall commit the horrible and detestable sins of sodomy upon pain of death.
The Lord Baltimore of Maryland received a charter to establish laws as long as they
were agreeable and not contrary to the laws of England. In 1632, England had the abominable
act of buggery listed as a crime worthy of death. Anyone guilty of one of the capital
offenses on this list were liable to death, drawn up by the Plymouth County in 1636. These
included treason, murder, witchcraft, arson, sodomy, rape, buggery, and adultery.