When Mary Barrett Dyer heard in 1652 that Quakers believe God speaks directly to individuals rather than just through the clergy, she found this to be in agreement with what she had herself believed for quite some time. Unfortunately, the Puritan powers-that-be in Massachusetts did not agree with this. So, when Dyer moved to the Colonies from England in 1657, she headed straight for Massachusetts -- in-your-face woman style -- to protest the law and challenge them to rescind it.
She was sent packing, banned from the state, and even threatened with execution, but she kept returning over and over until they finally sentenced her to death once more. Offered the option of "repenting" and being banned again, Dyer said, "Nay, I came to keep bloodguiltiness from you, desiring you to repeal the unrighteous and unjust law made against the innocent servants of the Lord. Nay, man, I am not now to repent." And she was hanged.
It was said, "She did hang as a flag for others to take example by." Even today, perhaps?
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