On 22 September 1692, eight people were led to the gallows in colonial Massachusetts and hanged for crimes they had not committed.
Martha Corey, Margaret Scott, Mary Easty, Alice Parker, Ann Pudeator, Wilmott Redd, Samuel Wardwell and Mary Parker became the final people executed by hanging during the Salem witch trials, one of the most notorious episodes of mass hysteria and judicial injustice in American history.
Their deaths at Proctor’s Ledge brought the number of people hanged during the trials to 19. Giles Corey had been pressed to death three days earlier after refusing to enter a plea, while several others died in prison during the wider crisis.
Fear of witchcraft grips Massachusetts
The Salem witch trials began in early 1692, after accusations of witchcraft spread through Salem Village and surrounding communities in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
What followed was a rapidly expanding series of allegations, arrests and prosecutions. Between 150 and 200 people were ultimately imprisoned, according to the Smithsonian, with accusations extending far beyond Salem itself.
The special Court of Oyer and Terminer was established by Governor William Phips in May 1692 to hear the cases. Among the most controversial features of the proceedings was the use of “spectral evidence”, testimony claiming that the spirit or apparition of an accused person had appeared to and harmed others.
The first execution came on 10 June, when Bridget Bishop was hanged. Five more people were executed on 19 July and another five on 19 August.
Eight people sent to the gallows
By September, the prosecutions had reached their final and deadliest execution day.
Among those condemned was Martha Corey, whose husband Giles had also been accused. He refused to recognise the authority of the court or enter a plea and, on 19 September, was subjected to peine forte et dure, in which increasingly heavy stones were placed upon his body. He died after several hours.
Three days later, Martha Corey was taken to Proctor’s Ledge with seven other prisoners.
The eight people executed on 22 September were:
- Martha Corey
- Margaret Scott
- Mary Easty
- Alice Parker
- Ann Pudeator
- Wilmott Redd
- Samuel Wardwell
- Mary Parker
All eight were hanged at Proctor’s Ledge, now recognised as the execution site associated with the Salem trials. It was the fourth and final day on which hangings were carried out during the crisis.
Samuel Wardwell had initially confessed to witchcraft before withdrawing his confession and maintaining that it had been false. He was subsequently convicted and executed.
Margaret Scott, an elderly widow from Rowley, was convicted largely on accusations from neighbours. She maintained her innocence until her death.
The trials begin to collapse
The Salem witch trials executions of 22 September proved to be the last.
Public opposition to the proceedings was growing, while doubts were increasingly being raised about the evidence being used against the accused.
Governor Phips dissolved the Court of Oyer and Terminer the following month. A new court heard the remaining cases in 1693 without accepting spectral evidence in the same way. Although three people were found guilty, Phips granted reprieves and no further executions took place.
The remaining prisoners were gradually released, bringing the crisis to an end.
A lasting symbol of injustice
In total, 19 people were hanged during the Salem witch trials and Giles Corey was pressed to death. At least five others died while imprisoned, including the infant daughter of Sarah Good, one of those executed.
In the decades and centuries that followed, authorities gradually acknowledged the injustice inflicted on the victims. Convictions were reversed and victims exonerated through a series of legislative actions, although some had to wait centuries for their names to be formally cleared.
Today, the Salem witch trials remain one of the best-known examples of the consequences of fear, unsupported accusations and failures of due process.
The Salem Witch Trials Memorial, dedicated in 1992, contains 20 granite benches bearing the names of those killed during the crisis.
More than three centuries later, 22 September marks the day the executions finally stopped.
Also read: What is the UN General Assembly and what does it mean for Cyprus?
For more videos and updates, check out our YouTube channel
