Fight to pardon witchcraft victims - 25th February 2022

2,500 women were murdered as witches in Scotland. Now, Witches of Scotland is demanding that their crimes are cancelled.

Scotland's 1563 Witchcraft Act introduced the death penalty for using magic. Women were often accused of witchcraft if they challenged men.

Witchcraft investigators stopped women from sleeping, searched for 'witch marks' and stuck needles in them. Women were found guilty, killed and then burned to prevent them returning from the dead.

Lawyer Claire Mitchell started Witches of Scotland

Claire Mitchell: The way that women were killed as witches was by strangulation and then by burning. So, the mosaic denotes the fact that she was burnt as a witch to get rid of her ashes. There was a belief that if you didn't get rid of every part of a witch, that they might 'revenant', rev, coming from the French 'revenir', to return."

Many women who were accused of witchcraft were poor and couldn't stand up for themselves. Women were commonly thought of as weak and easier for the devil to influence, explains Zoe Venditozzi, Witches of Scotland's podcast host.

Zoe Venditozzi: "They really felt they were operating in a world in which the devil was out to get them. And that women were weak vessels basically, who the devil could act through. So that's why women tended to get accused, because women were seen as being somebody that the devil could manipulate easily. Whereas men could withstand, you know, the devil's advances."

Witches of Scotland is demanding that the women are cleared of their crimes and that the state issues a formal apology. It's also asking for a memorial to these victims.

Today, people are still killed as witches and some attempts to approve laws against witchcraft continue.

Zoe Venditozzi: "We feel that it was an absolutely terrible thing that happened in Scotland's history. It was a miscarriage of justice and unfortunately it's not a finished with issue. There are still people across the world, generally vulnerable, often women or old people, that are being accused of witchcraft and in some cases being killed by mob justice. And in fact there are some countries that are trying to put it into their legal system where people can still be accused of witchcraft. So we don't think that it's an issue that's past. It's still sadly very, very relevant."