Five Women Executed For Witchcraft in Salem

[Jim]

Does freedom of religion mean that anyone can say anything, as long as
it's a religious belief? Does what people belief really matter? I am
sure that the five women that were hanged on July 19, 1692, and the
150-200 that were imprisoned, would all agree that what people believe
can change the lives of others forever.

It all began in January 1692, when the daughter and niece of the Rev.
Samuel Parris of Salem Mass., fell strangely ill. Residents of
Massachusetts firmly believed in the devil and were terrified of
evil.

“A strong belief in the devil, factions among Salem Village fanatics
and rivalry with nearby Salem Town, a recent small pox epidemic and
the threat of attack by warring tribes created a fertile ground for
fear and suspicion,” writes the Salem Witch Museum.

The town physician who was called in to examine the girl’s illnesses
concluded that they were victims of witchcraft. The two girls and two
friends had supposedly engaged in an occult ritual with Parris’ Indian
slave Tituba, who was then accused of witchcraft.

The two girls also accused two women of witchcraft: Sarah Good, a
homeless woman, and Sarah Osborne, who rarely attended church. They
were put in prison, where the elderly Osborne would die of natural
causes. . .

By May 1692, 150-200 men and women were in jail under suspicion of
witchcraft. The Court of Oyer and Terminer was created to hear the
cases, beginning on June 2 in the case of Bridget Bishop. She was
found guilty and hanged on June 10.

Good was put on trial on June 29, along with Sarah Wilds, Elizabeth
How, Susannah Martin and Rebecca Nurse. Based almost entirely on
spectral evidence, all but Nurse, a 71-year-old churchgoer and
respected member of the community, were found guilty. After Nurse’s
verdict was read, however, her accusers began to convulse. The verdict
was reconsidered and she was found guilty.

On July 19, 1692, the five were hanged on Gallows Hill. The hangings
“did little in abating the spread of witchcraft in Massachusetts
during the summer months of 1692,” writes Tim Sutter on
SalemWitchTrials.com. “More people began displaying signs of
affliction. … Those from all walks of life, rich and poor, farmer and
merchant, were now being accused. No one was exempt from being cried
out as a witch.”

The hysteria did not end until the fall, when the townspeople began to
wonder if they had executed innocent people. Famed preacher Increase
Mather said that it “were better that ten suspected witches should
escape than one innocent person should be condemned.”

Spectral evidence was no longer allowed and many trials ended in
acquittals. Finally, in May 1693, the remaining accused witches were
pardoned. In all, 19 men and women had been convicted and hanged, one
man was pressed by rocks, and at least four people had died in prison.

Read complete article at --
http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/on-this-day/July-August-08/On-this-Day--Five-Women-Hanged-in-Salem-for-Witchcraft.html%20
________________________
Please forward this to others who may be interested.
If you would like to receive our newsletters & updates
sign up for our Google Group at --
http://www.biblicalheritage.org/bhcpub.htm
________________________
________________________

Your Contributions to BHC Really Help!

The Biblical Heritage Center is funded by contributions from
individuals. Your support makes a big difference & really helps.
For information about how to make an online or mail donation go to --
http://www.biblicalheritage.org/BHC/donate.htm
________________________