Pardon British Witches

Straw urged to pardon witches,

A PETITION calling for a posthumous pardon for women and men who were executed as British witches will be presented to Jack Straw today. Campaigners hope evidence of eight grave “miscarriages of justice” will persuade the Justice Secretary to take action. A copy of the petition will also be sent to Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill. More than 400 people were put to death in England for alleged witchcraft, and more than 2,000 executed in Scotland, before the 1735 Witchcraft Act put an end to the trials, they said. Their bid to get justice for the victims follows an official pardon granted earlier this year by the Swiss government to Anna Goeldi, beheaded in 1782 and regarded as the last person executed as a witch in Europe.