Connecticut lawmakers apologize for ‘miscarriage of justice’ in colonial-era witch trials

[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nn(AP) — With distant family members looking on, Connecticut senators voted Thursday to absolve the 12 women and men convicted of witchcraft — 11 of whom were executed — more than 370 years ago and apologize for the “miscarriage of justice” that occurred over a dark 15-year-period of the state’s colonial history.The Senate voted 33-1 in favor of a resolution that officially proclaimed their innocence. It marked the culmination of years of effort by a group called the CT Witch Trial Exoneration Project, made up of history buffs and descendants. Some of the descendants recently learned through genealogy testing that they were related to the accused witches and have since lobbied the state’s General Assembly to officially clear their names.
“People can say we’re wasting our time this afternoon, maybe we could be doing other things,” said Republican state Sen. John Kissel, acknowledging early criticism of the legislative effort. “But I think it’s a small step to acknowledge our history and move forward together, Democrat, Republican, men and women into a brighter future.”
The resolution, which lists the nine women and two men who were executed and the one woman who was convicted and given a reprieve, already passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 121-30. Because it’s a resolution, it does not require the governor’s signature.
Republican state Sen. Rob Sampson cas …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]