Connecticut Witch Trial Exoneration Project
We are a dedicated volunteer coalition that successfully led the 2022-2023 initiative to exonerate those wrongfully accused of witchcraft in Connecticut through legislative action. We are actively partnering to establish a permanent memorial for the Connecticut victims of the witch trials, create a permanent educational exhibit on the witch trials, and integrate the history of the trials into a historical trail.
The accused
- At least 49 people were accused of witchcraft in colonial Connecticut. Of these, at least 34 were indicted and at least 11 were hanged. Due to the incompleteness of records, the true toll cannot yet be established.
The project
- We are an effort of End Witch Hunts
- We are a group of volunteers.
- We work with legislators and other leaders to promote witch trial history.
- We are advocating for witch trial history and heritage education development in the state of Connecticut.
Biographies
Quick links for cofounders:
Mary Bingham: For more information about Sarah Wildes as well as Mary’s research on John Winthrop Jr’s medical records, please connect with Mary through these links: YouTube and Sarah Wildes Facebook
Beth Caruso: To reach the award-winning author, researcher and witch trial exoneration activist, contact her through her website, One of Windsor or email oneofwindsor@yahoo.com
Tony Griego: Please reach out to witch trial activist Tony Griego through the CT WITCH Memorial Facebook Page
Josh Hutchinson: To connect with Josh, visit witchhuntshow or email joshua.hutchinson@endwitchhunts.org
Sarah Jack: To reach Sarah, visit witchhuntshow or email sarah@endwitchhunts.org
Co-founders of CT Witch Trial Exoneration Project
Mary Bingham is a descendant of Susannah Martin, Mary Estey and Sarah Wildes, all hanged at Salem, 1692. She is also an amateur Genealogist and Lay Historian. Her research specialty is colonial witch trials in New England. She is a co-founder of the Connecticut Witch Trial Exoneration Project and serves on the board of the End Witch Hunts organization.
Beth Caruso: Since 2015, Beth has been educating the public about the Connecticut witch trials through her historical novels The Connecticut Witch Trials Trilogy (One of Windsor, 2015 The Salty Rose, 2019 and Between Good and Evil, 2024) lectures, articles, and social media. She has been advocating for exoneration since 2016, when she co-founded the Facebook Page, CT WITCH Memorial. She organized efforts with Tony Griego for exoneration of Windsor’s trial victims, Alice Young and Lydia Gilbert, in 2017. Most recently, Beth co-authored “Between God and Satan: Thomas Thornton, Witch-Hunting, and Religious Mission in the English Atlantic World, 1647-1693.” which appeared in the Fall 2022 edition of Connecticut History Review (61:2) with historian, Dr. Katherine Hermes.
Tony Griego is a lifelong resident of Connecticut. Hamden High School graduate of 1961. U.S. Army veteran 1961-1964, Retired police Sergeant for the New Haven, Connecticut Police Department 1967-1998. Amateur history buff on witch trials starting in 1992. He lives in Hamden, Connecticut with his wife Judy. In 2008, he participated in the first exoneration effort for Connecticut’s witch trial victims in 2008. He helped start and contributes to the Facebook Page CT WITCH Memorial with his vignettes about the trial victims and their stories. He also took part in the exoneration for Windsor’s witch trial victims in the town of Windsor, Connecticut in 2017.
Josh Hutchinson is a lay historian, writer, and podcast host. He has been studying witch trials for fifteen years and sharing witch-hunt facts online for ten. Josh is a co-founder of End Witch Hunts, the Connecticut Witch Trial Exoneration Project, and creator of the Witch Hunt Podcast. He serves as treasurer of End Witch Hunts, co-manages the organization’s social media, and enjoys co-hosting, editing, and directing the podcast.
Sarah Jack: Sarah Jack is passionate about collaborating to eliminate witch-hunting of all kinds. She has a family connection to witch-hunt victims in Massachusetts and Connecticut, which inspires her work to educate the world on witch hunts past and present. She is looking for like-minded advocates to grow the message. Sarah is Co-founder of the Connecticut Witch Trial Exoneration Project, Co-creator and co-host of Witch Hunt Podcast and founding Executive Director of End Witch Hunts Nonprofit Organization.
Photos
Connecticut Witch Trial Exoneration Project 