Connecticut pardons people charged with witchcraft in 1600s, including 11 who were executed
Connecticut lawmakers have pardoned the women and men who were accused, convicted and executed for witchcraft in the 1600s.
House Joint Resolution 34, which was adopted by the state Senate Thursday in a 33-1-2 vote, acknowledges that at least 34 women and men were indicted for alleged crimes of "witchcraft and familiarities with the devil" in the 1600s.
Of the 34 people indicted, 12 people were convicted and 11 were executed, the resolution said.
“The State of Connecticut apologizes to the descendants of all those who were indicted, convicted and executed and for the harm done to the accused persons' posterity to the present day, and acknowledges the trauma and shame that wrongfully continued to affect the families of the accused,” the resolution said.
In a news release Thursday, Sen. Saud Anwar’s office said State Representative Jane Garibay and Anwar were instrumental in the resolution's passage.
"We cannot go back in time and prevent the banishment, tarnishing or execution of the innocent women and men who were accused of witchcraft, but we can acknowledge the wronghoods they faced and the pain they felt, pain still recognized by their survivors today," Sen. Anwar said in the release.
The resolution was backed by the Connecticut Witch Trial Exoneration Project and its member Kimberly Black, the 14th-generation great granddaughter of Mary Sanford, who was killed after being convicted of being a witch, the release said.
"This can send a message about the dangers of alienating people," Black said.
What is witchcraft?
Witchcraft is a term that is open to interpretation. It's often associated with black or dark magic, but not all practitioners of witchcraft use it with "bad" intentions. In fact, most practices are benign and often used as a form of empowerment.
As a practice, witchcraft dates back as early as the 10th century, and it grew around the 15th century, Fabrizio Conti, Ph.D., historian and lecturer in history at John Cabot University in Rome, told USA TODAY in 2022.
Conti said scholars are divided on how witchcraft is represented in different areas; some believe all witchcraft shares the same elements and beliefs everywhere, while others think certain mythologies in witchcraft are found in specific geographical locations and not in others, defining witchcraft as more individual, cultural and regional.
Wicca, which is among the largest pagan groups whose followers often practice witchcraft, has exploded in recent decades, the USA TODAY Network reported in 2021. The numbers of Americans who identify with Wicca or paganism has risen from 134,000 in 2001 to nearly 2 million, Helen Berger, a resident scholar at Brandeis University's Women's Studies Research Center, told the USA TODAY Network at the time.
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When and how did witchcraft become a crime?
In the 15th century, Heinrich Kramer wrote the "Malleus Maleficarum," which translates to "The Hammer of Witches.” The book popularized the idea that witchcraft was the act of performing evil acts and spells, particularly against men.
The book caused witch-hunts and trials in Europe, where witchcraft was a crime.
In the U.S., more than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft in the Salem witch trials between 1692 and 1693, which led to 19 people being hanged.
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Contributing: Olivia Munson, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Connecticut pardons witchcraft charges give in 1600s after executions
