For Halloween, British Government Asked To Pardon 16th to 18th Century Witches

Marking Halloween, Britain's Justice Secretary Jack Straw will be presented with a petition today seeking a symbolic royal pardon for individuals who were punished for witchcraft in Britain between the 16th and 18th centuries. The Witchcraft Act of 1541 made witchcraft a felony punishable by death. Today's London Guardian reports that the petition (full text), initiated by the family which operates the costume firm Angels, sets out the facts of eight historical cases as examples of the miscarriages of justice before Britain passed the 1735 Witchraft Act that eliminated capital punishment and instead treated witchcraft as a type of fraud that could lead only to a fine and imprisonment. Earlier this year, the Swiss government pardoned Anna Goeldi, the last person executed in Europe for witchcraft.