Dbq Salem Witch Trials

In total, the process of his execution took two full days (Findling 162-163). Executions consumed the summer of 1692 for Salem Village.
Finally realizing how awful the court system and executions were, the Salem Witch Trials came to an end. Although the chaos caused by the trials had started to resolve, some of the same original fits occurred in the years following (“Salem Witch Trials” n. pag.). Salem Village was ready to move on, so the victims were ignored. A few years after the trials concluded, the public began to criticize the court system. Some colonists felt bad and apologized to the families of whom the trials affected (Plouffe, Jr. n. pag.). In remembrance of the trials, the court declared a day of fasting and contemplation in January of 1697 (“Salem Witch Trials” n. pag.). According to Plouffe, Jr., the public also began

After listening to many complaints, in 1702, the General Court decided that the trials were in fact unlawful (Plouffe, Jr. n. pag.). Apologies from the jurors and accusers began rushing in. It was said the article Salem Witch Trials that Ann Putnam apologized for accusing Rebecca Nurse of being a witch in 1706. One judge, Samuel Sewall, publicly announced his guilt and error during the trials. Apologies came with the realization that none of the women were actually witches. In 1711, most of those accused were exonerated by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and compensation was paid to survivors and their families. News of the trials was put to rest until 1957 when the state of Massachusetts finally formally apologized to the public for the trials. However, it was not until 2001 that the last eleven victims were exonerated. As a result of the brutality of the trials, court procedures were changed in the United States. Accused personnel now have the right to legal representation during their trial. The United States also made the law that there must be a cross examination of the accuser, and jurors have to presume the accused