Dozens of residents finally found solace after the Connecticut Senate passed a resolution absolving their relatives who were accused, convicted, and executed for the crime of witchcraft in the 1600s.
"It doesn't matter that it was so long ago; it was somebody's life that was taken unjustly," resident Susan Bailey told The Washington Post on Thursday.
Bailey's ninth-great-grandmother Alice "Alse" Young was ordered to be hanged on accusations of using witchcraft to start a pandemic that caused children's deaths in nearby Windsor.
"It may not help her in the afterlife, but maybe it will," Bailey said. "But the relatives of hers that know about her terrible death … will gain some peace from it. It will help the healing process."
Thousands of people around the world during the 16th and 17th centuries were killed after facing accusations of witchcraft, which was regularly blamed for unexpected deaths and illnesses.
In Connecticut, witchcraft executions were routinely held at a central gathering spot in Hartford between 1647 and 1663. According to the Connecticut Witch Trial Exoneration Project, at least 34 people were indicted on witchcraft charges, with many fleeing the state with their families.
Modern lawmakers worldwide have been working for exoneration. In Connecticut, dozens of distant relatives campaigned to have their ancestors' charges dropped.
A group of more than a dozen distant relatives spoke with and testified before lawmakers about erasing their ancestors' charges. In January, state Sen. Saud Anwar got the ball rolling after introducing a bill that would do just that.
On Thursday, relatives of the accused gathered at the Capitol in Hartford for the final vote, which saw the bill passed with a 33-1 vote.
"It's never too late to do the right thing, and here it was very concerning that it was over 370-some years ago that people in our state … were murdered because of a reason that has no moral standing," Anwar said. "There was no legal standing. And it was something that made me sad because it truly has been a stain on our history."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.