Massachusetts Group Petitions State to Clear Names of All Accused in 17th Century Witch Trials

The Massachusetts Witch-Hunt Justice Project seeks official exoneration and apology for hundreds of individuals accused of witchcraft between 1638 and 1693, many of whom have been largely ignored unlike the infamous Salem witch trials.

The Massachusetts Witch-Hunt Justice Project, consisting of history enthusiasts and descendants of the accused, is petitioning for the exoneration and official apology for hundreds of individuals accused of witchcraft in the state between 1638 and 1693.
While most attention has been given to the Salem witch trials, the group highlights the forgotten individuals involved in witch trials throughout the 1600s, including five women hanged for witchcraft in Boston between 1648 and 1688.
Among those accused was Ann Hibbins, the sister-in-law to Massachusetts Governor Richard Bellingham, who was executed in 1656, and Goodwife Ann Glover or Goody Glover who was hanged in Boston in 1688.
The group has successfully led similar initiatives in Connecticut, resulting in the state senators voting to absolve 12 individuals convicted of witchcraft over 370 years ago.
Massachusetts has previously made efforts to reconcile with its history of witch trials, with a judge from the Salem witch trials issuing a public confession and apology five years after the trials, and the exoneration of several Salem witch trial victims in the 20th and 21st centuries.

The Christian Science Monitor