329 years later, last Salem 'witch' who wasn't is pardoned

Witch trial in Salem, Massachusetts. Lithograph by George H. Walker. Undated BOSTON (AP) - It took more than three centuries, but the last Salem "witch" who wasn’t has been officially pardoned.Massachusetts lawmakers on Thursday formally exonerated Elizabeth Johnson Jr., clearing her name 329 years after she was convicted of witchcraft in 1693 and sentenced to death at the height of the Salem Witch Trials.Johnson was never executed, but neither was she officially pardoned like others wrongly accused of witchcraft.Lawmakers agreed to reconsider her case last year after a curious eighth-grade civics class at North Andover Middle School took up her cause and researched the legislative steps needed to clear her name.Subsequent legislation introduced by state Sen.

Diana DiZoglio, a Democrat from Methuen, was tacked onto a budget bill and approved."We will never be able to change what happened to victims like Elizabeth but at the very least can set the record straight," DiZoglio said.SALEM, MA - JULY 19: Nancy Shumway Adams from West Simsbury, CT take a photo of the stone of Samuel Wardwell, an alleged witch who was hanged on Sep.

22, 1692, at the Proctor's Ledge Memorial in Salem, MA on Jul. 19, 2017. She is the 10th generation In a statement, North Andover teacher Carrie LaPierre — whose students championed the legislation — praised the youngsters for taking on "the long-overlooked issue of justice for this wrongly convicted woman.""Passing this legislation will be incredibly impactful on their understanding of how important it is to stand up for people who cannot advocate for themselves and how strong of a voice they actually have," she said.Johnson is the last accused witch to be cleared, according to Witches of.