June 17, 2001
Source: The Arizona Republic
On June 17, 2001, The Arizona Republic reported that "Massachusetts has exonerated by name 14 of the 19 men and women" who were convicted for witchcraft and hanged in Salem in 1692. The Massachusetts Legislature is considering "a bill to erase the [remaining five] of the 309-year-old convictions. Descendants [scattered from Maine to Utah] and historians...insist it's time to set the record straight: These were not witches. They were heroic Christian martyrs who refused to renounce their faith."