Samuel Sewall's Apology
One of the nine judges selected to arbitrate the
Salem witch trials in 1692, Samuel Sewall sat on the Court of Oyer and Terminer,
which would condemn nineteen individuals to execution by
hanging. Almost five years after the trials concluded, Sewall stood
in front of the congregation of the South Church in Boston while Rev. Samuel
Willard read his confession aloud. As the only judge from the
trials to confess guilt for the part that he played in the crisis that took
place in Salem in 1692, Samuel Sewall stands as a heroic figure
in the history of Massachusetts.
The Salem Court condemned nineteen people
to their death that year until Governor Phips finallyclosed it
down on October 29. Certainly, however, Sewall's investment in the issues of
that year did not conclude with the trials, as five years later
he would issue his apology.
Salem witch trials in 1692, Samuel Sewall sat on the Court of Oyer and Terminer,
which would condemn nineteen individuals to execution by
hanging. Almost five years after the trials concluded, Sewall stood
in front of the congregation of the South Church in Boston while Rev. Samuel
Willard read his confession aloud. As the only judge from the
trials to confess guilt for the part that he played in the crisis that took
place in Salem in 1692, Samuel Sewall stands as a heroic figure
in the history of Massachusetts.
The Salem Court condemned nineteen people
to their death that year until Governor Phips finallyclosed it
down on October 29. Certainly, however, Sewall's investment in the issues of
that year did not conclude with the trials, as five years later
he would issue his apology.