Conn. Residents Push For Clearing Of Witchcraft Convictions

About a dozen people speaking during a public hearing Wednesday urged Connecticut lawmakers to take up an access to justice issue from the distant past and exonerate at least 34 men and women indicted — 11 of whom were convicted and executed — for the purported crime of witchcraft committed over 300 years ago.

That testimony during a session of the state's Joint Committee on Judiciary centered on a measure introduced by Rep. Jane Garibay, D-Windsor, that would exonerate all alleged crimes relating to the charges of witchcraft in colonial-era Connecticut. The bill, known as House Joint Resolution 34, would also restore the reputation of those indicted, forced to flee, banished or acquitted who had their family reputation or name tarnished.

It was unclear Wednesday if or when the judiciary committee would move the bill to the next phase in the legislative process, but speakers contended the legislators could help send a message about the importance of equal justice under the law.

During her testimony, Garibay said she had spoken with numerous people across Connecticut and the country who are descendants of so-called witches. These accused witches include both men and women, sometimes even married couples that left behind children orphaned after their executions.

Garibay testified that as she learned more, she became aware that these were women who were executed for wearing certain clothing, being too assertive, those who might inherit property or because another person did not like them.

"This is not about witchcraft. This is about women's rights and justice," Garibay said. "We need to make it abundantly clear that the state of Connecticut condemns the injustice, cruelty and misogyny of these trials and executions."

Multiple people testifying in favor of the bill, including co-founders of the Connecticut Witch Trial Exoneration Project, said that the history of the witch trials is hard to track due to limited documentation, but it began decades before the famous Salem Witch Trials in Massachusetts.

Others brought up their own familial connections to the trials, including Susan Bailey who learned two years ago that she is the ninth great-granddaughter of Alice Young, the first accused witch. Young was hanged in Hartford in 1647.

According to the Connecticut Witch Trial Exoneration Project, Young was condemned as a witch when children were dying of an epidemic, including four of her neighbors.

"My elation at discovering my deep Connecticut roots was immediately tempered with sorrow by the realization of Alice's untimely and cruel death," Bailey testified. "Alice was a person just as we are now. She was a victim of bigotry, misogyny and ignorance, just as so many marginalized groups are victims of the same prejudices today."

Bailey said the living relatives of those accused and hanged may find comfort in having their relatives' names cleared but that the bill is also a necessary act of reckoning that in some way attempts to correct historical injustices.

Luther Weeks of Secular Connecticut brought another perspective with his testimony. He is a descendant of one of the most likely perpetrators of these crimes, Deacon William Gaylord, who served for 40 sessions in the general court, which was the predecessor of the state's General Assembly.

He said that as a deacon of the church in Windsor, his ancestor was probably running proceedings but that records are unavailable today. Weeks' ancestor's political role means he likely approved the convictions and participated in the hanging of accused witches in Hartford, he said.

Weeks called these actions one of those "heinous crimes that can never be fully corrected or atoned for." He added that the bill is the least the state could do, joining states that have already done the same.

Another story shared was that of Lydia Gilbert, who was accused of witchcraft after a fatal firearm accident and was hanged in 1654.

Catherine Carmon, a 14-year-old Windsor resident, referenced Young and Gilbert's stories, stating she was shocked to learn these women have yet to be exonerated.

"Then I thought of the constant pattern of our country's arrogance to women throughout history. Misogyny is in our country's blood," Carmon said. "It is not too late to change that by acknowledging your predecessors' wrongdoings. Although you will not be able to rewrite history, you will be able to make a new ending, one you should be proud of."

--Editing by Andrew Cohen.

For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.