45°F
weather icon Partly Cloudy

Spellbound: Thousands convicted of witchcraft may be pardoned

LONDON — A Scottish lawmaker on Thursday launched a bid to posthumously pardon thousands of people, mostly women, who were convicted of witchcraft centuries ago.

Natalie Don, of the Scottish National Party, launched consultation on a bill to “right the historic wrong of witchcraft convictions.” She said she hoped the move would send a message to other countries that still criminalize those accused of witchcraft that “Scotland recognizes what happened to these people as a deplorable miscarriage of justice.”

Don’s proposed member’s bill follows a formal apology from Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on International Women’s Day in March to those convicted, vilified or executed under the 1563 Witchcraft Act.

An estimated 4,000 Scots were accused of witchcraft under the law up until 1736.

Of the 4,000, about 2,500 were executed — and Scotland killed five times as many people accused as witches than anywhere else in Europe, according to Witches of Scotland, a campaign group that has been lobbying officials to bring posthumous justice to those accused.

In her speech, Sturgeon said the victims were “accused and killed because they were poor, different, vulnerable or in many cases just because they were women.” The injustice was “driven at least in part by misogyny.”

Don said her move was not just about the past, and that she wanted to address “gendered and patriarchal attitudes” and discrimination in modern-day Scotland.

“It is my view that in order to build a fairer, more equal and forward-thinking Scotland, we must address the historic injustices of our past,” Don said.

MOST READ
Exco Sidebar
Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.
MORE STORIES
THE LATEST
A rocket from Yemen strikes Tel Aviv, injuring 16

A rocket fired from Yemen hit an area of Tel Aviv overnight, leaving 16 people injured by shattered glass, the Israeli military said Saturday.

U.S. envoys visit Syria after Assad overthrow

Details of the meetings were not immediately available and a news conference the officials had planned was canceled due to unspecified security concerns.

Tesla recalling almost 700K vehicles

Tesla has been dealing with recalls throughout the year. Its Cybertruck is now up to its seventh recall of the year, with one last month that involved around 2,400 vehicles.

Trump/Musk ‘laughable’ budget plan fails in House vote

“We’re going to regroup and we will come up with another solution, so stay tuned,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said after the vote. The cobbled-together plan didn’t even get a majority, with the bill failing 174-235.

Luigi Mangione faces new charges, could face death penalty

The suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO was whisked back to New York on a plane and by helicopter Thursday to face new federal charges of stalking and murder, which could bring the death penalty if he’s convicted.

Walmart starts testing body cameras on employees

Walmart has started testing body-camera technology for employees, as it looks to increase security at its stores, according to CNBC.