CT HJ00034

Exonerates 11 people executed for witchcraft in colonial Connecticut and New Haven between 1647 and 1663, including Alice Young (1647), Mary Johnson (1648), Joan and John Carrington (1651), and others, proclaiming their innocence of all witchcraft charges.

Exonerates Elizabeth Seager, who was convicted and reprieved in 1665, restoring her name and standing in Connecticut.

Restores the reputations of 22 additional people who were indicted but not convicted, ending the disgrace attached to their names and those of their families who continued to suffer from the tainted reputations.

Acknowledges that colonial legal procedures did not meet modern standards of proof, misogyny played a significant role in the trials, and community fear and superstition facilitated the miscarriage of justice.

Directs the State of Connecticut to apologize to all descendants of the accused for the harm done to them and acknowledges the continuing trauma and shame wrongfully affecting the families.