Witches of Scotland is a campaign for legal

pardons A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the ju ...

and historic justice for the people, primarily women, convicted of

witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...

and executed in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

between 1563 and 1736. It aims to obtain a pardon, an apology, and a national memorial for the convicted from the Scottish parliament. Led by

Claire Mitchell Claire Mitchell is a Kings Counsel working in Scotland. She has a particular interest in constitutional, human rights and sentencing questions. Career She has an honours degree in law from University of Glasgow and became a QC (now KC) in 2019 ...

QC and writer Zoe Venditozzi, the campaign was launched on

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against wom ...

in 2020, and gained significant media coverage in 2021. The podcasts published by the campaign include contributions from Carolyn Jess Cooke,

Sara Sheridan Sara Sheridan (born 7 June 1968) is a Scottish activist and writer who works in a variety of genres, though predominantly in historical fiction. She is the creator of the Mirabelle Bevan mysteries. Biography Born Sara Louise Goodwin, Sheridan ...

, Julia Campanelli,

Julian Goodare Julian Goodare is a professor of history at University of Edinburgh. Academic career Goodare studied at the University of Edinburgh in the 1980s, afterwards engaged as a postdoctoral fellow. He lectured at the University of Wales, and at the Univ ...

and Alice Tarbuck.

Historical background

In Scotland the

Witchcraft Act In England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, and the British colonies, there has historically been a succession of Witchcraft Acts governing witchcraft and providing penalties for its practice, or—in later years—rather for pretending to practise ...

remained in law till 1736. Witchcraft was a capital crime and punished by strangulation and burning at the stake. Claire Mitchell QC provides evidence that Scotland executed five times as many people per capita as anywhere else in Europe. An estimated 3837 people were accused, 2558 of whom were killed. 84% of the convicted were women. The campaign website describes King James the VI of Scotland's involvement in what they describe as "Scotland's satanic panic". James considered himself an expert in witchcraft and wrote ''

Daemonologie ''Daemonologie''—in full ''Daemonologie, In Forme of a Dialogue, Divided into three Books: By the High and Mighty Prince, James &c.''—was first published in 1597 by King James VI of Scotland (later also James I of England) as a philosophi ...

.''

Aims and accomplishments

The founders view the campaign as a women's rights issue due to the extreme discrepancy in the number of women convicted versus men. They see the pardoning and memorializing of these women as a statement against misogyny in the world today. The campaign has three specific goals: a pardon for those convicted, a formal apology from the Scottish government, and a national memorial.

Pardon

The campaign seeks a legal pardon in order to acknowledge that those convicted of witchcraft were victims of injustice, and not criminals. In the background to their petition, Mitchell cites the Historical Sexual Offences Act 2018, as well as the Scottish Parliament's intent to pardon miners convicted during the 1984 miners strike, as precedent for righting historical wrongs in this manner. A member's bill to clear the names of those accused was planned by SNP MSP

Natalie Don Natalie Don (born 1989) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who has served as the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Renfrewshire North and West since 2021. Early life Don is from Renfrewshire and was raised in a council house ...

. It received the support of

First Minister A first minister is any of a variety of leaders of government cabinets. The term literally has the same meaning as "prime minister" but is typically chosen to distinguish the office-holder from a superior prime minister. Currently the title of '' ...

Nicola Sturgeon Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon (born 19 July 1970) is a Scottish politician serving as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) since 2014. She is the first woman to hold either position. She has been a member of ...

in December 2021, and a consultation was launched in June 2022. Don believes that the increasing number of female Members of Scottish Parliament in recent years has been a positive factor in the progress of the bill.

Apology

The campaign sought an apology from the Scottish government, with the reasoning that many victims of the witch hunts were only accused, not convicted; a pardon could not be granted to these individuals. Mitchell states that a "public statement of regret" is necessary for these individuals for whom even the allegation of witchcraft was irrevocably damaging. Nicola Sturgeon offered a formal apology on International Women's Day 2022. Remembering the Accused Witches of Scotland (RAWS), a related organization, additionally secured an apology from the Church of Scotland for its role in the persecution.{{Cite web , date=2022-06-22 , title=Failure to pardon women persecuted as witches in Scotland 'prolongs misogyny' , url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jun/23/failure-to-pardon-women-persecuted-as-witches-in-scotland-prolongs-misogyny , access-date=2022-07-08 , website=the Guardian , language=en

Memorial

The campaign seeks to obtain a national memorial to those affected by the witch trials. RAWS identified a potential site for the memorial in Kelty, Fife - a central location for many of the trials.

References