Scotland's witches should be pardoned forthwith – Scotsman comment

It was a most shameful time in Scottish history. During periods of “Satanic panic” from the 16th to 18th centuries, thousands of women were falsely accused of witchcraft, tortured and burned at the stake.
QC Claire Mitchell launched the campaign to secure justice for Scotland's witches last March. (Picture: Ian Georgeson)QC Claire Mitchell launched the campaign to secure justice for Scotland's witches last March. (Picture: Ian Georgeson)
QC Claire Mitchell launched the campaign to secure justice for Scotland's witches last March. (Picture: Ian Georgeson)

And, while this happened all over Europe, Scotland had about five times the number of cases than other parts of Europe during the period.

Now the Scottish Parliament is being asked to formally pardon the victims of this appalling injustice – 85 per cent of whom were women – issue an official apology and agree to the creation of a national memorial.

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Claire Mitchell QC, who has played a leading role in highlighting the issue, said: “Not only is history not properly recording what positive things women do, but their history is also erased by not properly recording their story.”

She said she wanted to restore the victims to their “correct place in history as women and men, not witches”.

There may be some who say this all happened long ago, so what is the value of a pardon. But our history – the stories we tell ourselves about the past – has a real and significant effect on the world today.

Witchcraft remains an example of just how vicious sexism and misogyny, exacerbated by superstitious beliefs and religious extremism, can be. It may now exist in subtler forms but true equality of the sexes must be our goal.

By formally recognising that the ‘witches’ were innocent and their persecutors were guilty, we can make a statement about the kind of country we want to be.

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