Special event was held February 1, 2025 at Connecticut’s Old State House in Hartford
Thank you to all who joined us on February 1, 2025 for the first remembrance day for the victims of Connecticut’s witch trials. Remembering the Innocent Victims of the Connecticut Witch Trials featured a dramatic reading of the play “The Last Night,” remarks by Connecticut General Assembly representative Jane Garibay, a panel with political leaders, historians, and the founders of the Connecticut Witch Trial Exoneration Project, and a remembrance ceremony.
Event details
The event kicked off at 1:00 P. M., with emcees Sarah Jack and Josh Hutchinson introducing Rep. Jane Garibay, who welcomed attendees.
Following Rep. Garibay’s talk, Connecticut performers and playwrights Debra J. Walsh and Ginny Wolf presented a reading of “The Last Night,” a play telling a story of Rebecca Greensmith and Mary Barnes on their final night in jail before they were hanged for witchcraft.
Next, the audience watched prerecorded remarks by Dr. Katherine Hermes, JD, PhD, who will talk about the exoneration legislation and colonial law.
Then, a panel discussion featured Rep. Jane Garibay, Sen. Saud Anwar, Dr. Richard S. Ross III, and Tony Griego, Beth Caruso, and Mary Bingham of the Connecticut Witch Trial Exoneration Project. Questions focused on the absolution resolution, the history of the witch trials, preserving the memory of the victims, and confronting continued witchcraft accusation-related violence.
The ceremony concluded with a moment of silent reflection and a reading of the resolution, which includes the names of those accused of witchcraft in the Connecticut and New Haven colonies.
After the event at the Old State House, many participants braved icy temperatures to visit the Ancient Burying Ground to pay further tribute at memorial bricks placed there for two victims.
Links
- Connecticut’s Old State House
- End Witch Hunts nonprofit
- Witch Hunt podcast
- Connecticut Explored magazine
- Grating the Nutmeg podcast
- Before Salem: Witch-Hunting in the Connecticut River Valley, 1647 – 1663 by Richard S. Ross III
- One of Windsor: The Untold Story of America’s First Witch Hanging by Beth M. Caruso
- The Salty Rose: Alchemists, Witches & A Tapper In New Amsterdam by Beth M. Caruso
- Between Good and Evil: Curse of the Windsor Witch’s Daughter by Beth M. Caruso
- Beth M. Caruso’s website, One of Windsor
Connecticut Witch Trial Exoneration Project 