2 Connecticut lawmakers propose a resolution to posthumously exonerate people who were convicted of witchcraft in the 1600s.
Nearly four decades before the Salem witch trials in Massachusetts took place, Connecticut carried out the first executions of people found guilty of "witchcraft" in what would become the United States.
Now, centuries later, Connecticut Rep. Jane Gariby and Sen. Saud Anwar have proposed a resolution to exonerate the men and women that were convicted of witchcraft in colonial Connecticut all those years ago.
The resolution recognizes that the actions now cannot change the past. “Although these accusations, prosecutions, trials and executions cannot be undone or changed, no disgrace or cause for distress should attach to the heirs of those persons," the resolution reads.
The Connecticut Witch Trial Exoneration Project says that exonerations matter, regardless of how much time has passed.
The Connecticut witch trials, which occurred between 1647 and 1697, saw 34 individuals indicted. Of the 34, 11 were executed.
Scholars believe Alice "Alse" Young was killed after being blamed for causing a pandemic in the town of Windsor, where many children died. Lydia Gilbert was killed after being found guilty of "bewitching a gun that killed someone in 1651," despite the fact that she was not there when the killing occurred. Mary Sanford and Nathaniel and Rebecca Greensmith were killed after attending a Christmas party. Puritans did not believe in celebrating Christmas, and the party was construed as a coven and meeting with the devil.
Though the specific reason for Mary Barnes' killing was unknown, she was hanged with the Greensmiths. And like Barnes, the specific reasons for the killings of Mary Johnson, Joan Carrington, Goodwife Bassett and Goodwife Knapp have been lost to time. One additional person was convicted and then reprieved by Governor John Winthrop Jr.
“The witch trials in Connecticut were a miscarriage of justice. The individuals accused were universally innocent of the charges of covenanting with Satan and using supernatural forces to harm others. Their descendants and others moved by these stories want to see their names cleared,” reads the Connecticut Witch Trial Exoneration Project website.
Along with the resolution to exonerate the individuals convicted, the pair also proposed a resolution recognizing the unfair treatment of individuals accused of witchcraft during the 17th century.
“Connecticut is also taking a stand against witch-hunting, which will resonate in parts of the world where witchcraft accusations continue to lead to violence today,” the Connecticut Witch Trial Exoneration Project website reads. “By acknowledging the mistakes of the past, we educate the public that similar actions are not acceptable today."
