Exonerate Massachusetts Witch Trial Victims : Margaret Jones, Goody Glover, Alice Lake etc
The Issue
Every step forward honors the memory of those wrongly accused and executed for the colonial crime of witchcraft in Massachusetts. If you want to help, contact your representative telling them to support the exoneration of convicted witches and share the petition change.org/witchtrials
On January 15, 2025, Rep. Steven Owens (Cambridge and Watertown) proposed HD 3054, An Act Exonerating Certain Individuals Accused of Witchcraft in Colonial Massachusetts. This legislation became Bill H. 1927. MA Witch Hunt Justice Project members gave in person and virtual testimony in favor of the bill in November. Many people submitted written testimony in favor.
In 2026 H. 1927 became H.5154 when it moved on from the Joint Committee on the Judiciary with a unanimous recommendation to the House Ways and Means Committee. Sadly, the bill did not move further, and is dead.
Look for updates this fall as a new bill will be proposed for those convicted of witchcraft and overlooked for exoneration from 1648-1689 in MA.
The Massachusetts Witchcraft Trials occurred between 1638 and 1693. During this period, at least 250 individuals were accused of witchcraft in Massachusetts. More than 200 of these were complained of, implicated in court, questioned, arrested, and/or imprisoned. To date, the names of 31 of the convicted Salem victims have been cleared by legislation. However, 8 individuals convicted in Boston in other witch trials have not been exonerated.
More than 200 people were accused of witchcraft in Massachusetts. 31 convicted or killed in Salem have been exonerated. However, none of the 8 people convicted for witchcraft in Boston has been exonerated.
During this dark chapter in history, these individuals suffered imprisonment, interrogation, loss of reputation, loss of income, separation from their families, illness, and death. Many of the Salem victims survived only because the governor instituted a new court with new rules after several months of executions had taken place. Before that, there court had a 100% conviction rate. Meanwhile, those accused in the years before Salem have been all but forgotten. They have not been cleared, and there is no memorial for the first hanged alleged witch of MA, Margaret Jones.
Witch-hunting didn’t end with Salem; it went underground. Today, these underground witch-hunts result in thousands of murders around the world each year of people accused of witchcraft. Activists working to eliminate these murders and other harmful practices related to accusations of witchcraft and ritual attacks have told us what we are doing is important to them. Passing this legislation will send a message that the United States recognizes that witch trials were held in the past and condemns them and all forms of witch-hunting today.
Victims and survivors centuries ago and now deserve to be remembered. They deserve to have their names cleared. The Massachusetts Witch-Hunt Justice Project proposes that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts restore to good standing those convicted of witchcraft and issue an apology to all who were accused and suffered the consequences of accusation. This effort follows on the heels of the exoneration of Elizabeth Johnson Jr by Massachusetts in 2022 and the exoneration of 34 individuals by Connecticut in May 2023.
We support exoneration because correcting injustice is always the right thing to do. These women, men, and children were universally innocent of charges of witchcraft and covenanting with the devil. They and their families suffered, and their pain has been passed down through generational trauma. Confronting our past is an important step in moving forward. It is important that people learn from these events so we can stop making the same mistakes our ancestors did. Even today, witch-hunting claims many lives around the world. Each week, stories come in that echo those of the 17th-century witchcraft trial victims.
Please help us correct this injustice by signing and sharing this petition.
Learn all about witch hunts: The Thing About Witch Hunts Podcast and The Thing About The Salem Witch Trials Podcast
If you, your class, or your organization are interested in assisting, please visit https://Massachusettswitchtrials.org/volunteer join our Discord group at https://discord.gg/ykskdmasjH or make a tax-deductible donation at https://endwitchhunts.org/donate
3,058
The Issue
Every step forward honors the memory of those wrongly accused and executed for the colonial crime of witchcraft in Massachusetts. If you want to help, contact your representative telling them to support the exoneration of convicted witches and share the petition change.org/witchtrials
On January 15, 2025, Rep. Steven Owens (Cambridge and Watertown) proposed HD 3054, An Act Exonerating Certain Individuals Accused of Witchcraft in Colonial Massachusetts. This legislation became Bill H. 1927. MA Witch Hunt Justice Project members gave in person and virtual testimony in favor of the bill in November. Many people submitted written testimony in favor.
In 2026 H. 1927 became H.5154 when it moved on from the Joint Committee on the Judiciary with a unanimous recommendation to the House Ways and Means Committee. Sadly, the bill did not move further, and is dead.
Look for updates this fall as a new bill will be proposed for those convicted of witchcraft and overlooked for exoneration from 1648-1689 in MA.
The Massachusetts Witchcraft Trials occurred between 1638 and 1693. During this period, at least 250 individuals were accused of witchcraft in Massachusetts. More than 200 of these were complained of, implicated in court, questioned, arrested, and/or imprisoned. To date, the names of 31 of the convicted Salem victims have been cleared by legislation. However, 8 individuals convicted in Boston in other witch trials have not been exonerated.
More than 200 people were accused of witchcraft in Massachusetts. 31 convicted or killed in Salem have been exonerated. However, none of the 8 people convicted for witchcraft in Boston has been exonerated.
During this dark chapter in history, these individuals suffered imprisonment, interrogation, loss of reputation, loss of income, separation from their families, illness, and death. Many of the Salem victims survived only because the governor instituted a new court with new rules after several months of executions had taken place. Before that, there court had a 100% conviction rate. Meanwhile, those accused in the years before Salem have been all but forgotten. They have not been cleared, and there is no memorial for the first hanged alleged witch of MA, Margaret Jones.
Witch-hunting didn’t end with Salem; it went underground. Today, these underground witch-hunts result in thousands of murders around the world each year of people accused of witchcraft. Activists working to eliminate these murders and other harmful practices related to accusations of witchcraft and ritual attacks have told us what we are doing is important to them. Passing this legislation will send a message that the United States recognizes that witch trials were held in the past and condemns them and all forms of witch-hunting today.
Victims and survivors centuries ago and now deserve to be remembered. They deserve to have their names cleared. The Massachusetts Witch-Hunt Justice Project proposes that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts restore to good standing those convicted of witchcraft and issue an apology to all who were accused and suffered the consequences of accusation. This effort follows on the heels of the exoneration of Elizabeth Johnson Jr by Massachusetts in 2022 and the exoneration of 34 individuals by Connecticut in May 2023.
We support exoneration because correcting injustice is always the right thing to do. These women, men, and children were universally innocent of charges of witchcraft and covenanting with the devil. They and their families suffered, and their pain has been passed down through generational trauma. Confronting our past is an important step in moving forward. It is important that people learn from these events so we can stop making the same mistakes our ancestors did. Even today, witch-hunting claims many lives around the world. Each week, stories come in that echo those of the 17th-century witchcraft trial victims.
Please help us correct this injustice by signing and sharing this petition.
Learn all about witch hunts: The Thing About Witch Hunts Podcast and The Thing About The Salem Witch Trials Podcast
If you, your class, or your organization are interested in assisting, please visit https://Massachusettswitchtrials.org/volunteer join our Discord group at https://discord.gg/ykskdmasjH or make a tax-deductible donation at https://endwitchhunts.org/donate
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Petition created on October 11, 2023