Three indentured servants attempted to pursue freedom from their indentured contract and were caught days after their escape. In court, the punishment was that all men were subjected to be whipped. However, the two white men were charged with 4 years added to their indentured contracts, while the black male was condemned to lifelong servitude. John Punch was the first black man granted slavery because of his race. This case was one of the most significant cases during this period and it showed how the courts would begin to differentiate between who could and could not be enslaved. In 1962, the Virginia General Assembly adopted a rule known as Partus Sequitur Ventrem that states the mother's status would determine the child's status of being a slave or free. This policy led to an increase in abuse and forced procreation of enslaved black women since the race of the father was not taken into account. These legal codifications were often justified using religious arguments because many Christians would equate darkness or blackness with sin. “God intended for white men to rule over black men” was used for centuries to justify the enslavement of Black