Massachusetts
329 years later, last Salem ‘witch’ who wasn’t is pardoned
BOSTON (AP) — It took more than three centuries, but the last Salem “witch” who wasn’t has been officially pardoned.
Massachusetts lawmakers on Thursday formally exonerated Elizabeth Johnson Jr., clearing her name 329 years after she was convicted of witchcraft in 1693 and sentenced to death at
the height of the Salem Witch Trials.
Johnson was never executed, but neither was she officially pardoned like others wrongly accused of witchcraft.
Lawmakers agreed to reconsider her case last year after a curious eighth-grade civics class at North Andover Middle School took up her cause and researched the legislative steps needed to clear her name.
Subsequent legislation introduced by state Sen. Diana DiZoglio, a Democrat from Methuen, was tacked onto a budget bill and approved.
“We will never be able to change what happened to victims like Elizabeth but at the very least can set the record straight,” DiZoglio said.
In a statement, North Andover teacher Carrie LaPierre — whose students championed the legislation — praised the youngsters for taking on “the long-overlooked issue of justice for this wrongly convicted woman.”
“Passing this legislation will be incredibly impactful on their understanding of how important it is to stand up for people who cannot advocate for themselves and how strong of a voice they actually have,” she said.
Johnson is the last accused witch to be cleared, according to Witches of Massachusetts Bay, a group devoted to the history and lore of the 17th-century witch hunts.
“For 300 years, Elizabeth Johnson Jr. was without a voice, her story lost to the passages of time,” said state Sen. Joan Lovely, of Salem.
Twenty people from Salem and neighboring towns were killed and hundreds of others accused during a frenzy of Puritan injustice that began in 1692, stoked by superstition, fear of disease and strangers, scapegoating and petty jealousies. Nineteen were hanged, and one man was crushed to death by rocks.
Johnson was 22 when she was caught up in the hysteria of the witch trials and sentenced to hang. That never happened: Then-Gov. William Phips threw out her punishment as the magnitude of the gross miscarriages of justice in Salem sank in.
In the more than three centuries that have ensued, dozens of suspects officially were cleared, including Johnson’s own mother, the daughter of a minister whose conviction eventually was reversed.
But for some reason, Johnson’s name wasn’t included in various legislative attempts to set the record straight. Because she wasn’t among those whose convictions were formally set aside, hers still technically stood. Unlike others wrongfully accused, Johnson never had children and thus had no descendants to act on her behalf.
“Elizabeth’s story and struggle continue to greatly resonate today,” DiZoglio said. “While we’ve come a long way since the horrors of the witch trials, women today still all too often find their rights challenged and concerns dismissed.”
Ohio
Detention hearing waived in plot to kill George W. Bush
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — An Iraqi man behind bars following his arrest on a charge of plotting to assassinate former President George W. Bush has waived his right to a detention hearing and will remain behind bars for now, according to a court document filed Thursday.
Shihab Ahmed Shihab Shihab, 52, also schemed to smuggle other Iraqis into the U.S. from Mexico to aid in the plot, after which they’d be smuggled back out through Mexico, prosecutors said in a criminal complaint filed in federal court in Columbus following his Tuesday arrest.
Shihab, who came to the U.S. from Iraq in 2020 on a visitor’s visa, insinuated he had contacts with the Islamic State group, prosecutors said. It did not appear the plot came close to materializing, with confidential informants briefing the FBI from April 2021 through this month.
Shihab on Thursday waived his right to a detention hearing scheduled for Friday, according to the court document which did not provide details. A message was left with Shihab’s federal public defender.
If convicted, Shihab could face up to 30 years in prison and $500,000 in fines.
Oklahoma
Governor seeks expungement of critical jury report
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An Oklahoma judge should expunge a portion of a state grand jury report that is sharply critical of Gov. Kevin Stitt, according to a motion filed by Stitt.
The portion of the May 13 report calling Stitt’s meetings with his appointees to the state Pardon and Parole Board before they took office “grossly improper” is not allowed under a state law that limits grand juries to issuing only indictments, according to the motion filed Wednesday.
The report said Stitt and the appointees discussed upcoming votes and dismissal of the agency’s director, violating the spirit of Oklahoma’s Open Meetings Act.
The motion called Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater, who requested the grand jury, “overzealous.”
Prater, who is not seeking reelection, said in a statement Thursday that the grand jury’s report was based on its investigation of the parole board.
“The Grand Jurors delivered their report to the Presiding Judge,” Prater wrote. “The Judge reviewed the report and found it to be proper to be filed.”
The law cited by Stitt’s motion says a grand jury may report “the condition and operation” of public offices but not allege “willful misconduct or malfeasance” of a public officer.
Stitt also seeks a copy of grand jury transcripts.
Illinois
Suit targets post-election count of mail ballots
CHICAGO (AP) — A lawsuit filed Wednesday by three Illinois Republicans argues that the state should not count mail-in ballots that arrive after the date of an election.
The suit was filed in federal court in Chicago on behalf of Rep. Michael Bost from Carbondale, a state GOP committeeperson Laura Pollastrini and Susan Sweeney who was one of the state’s Republican presidential electors in 2020.
A spokesman for the Illinois State Board of Elections said Thursday that it does not comment on pending litigation.
The suit asks a judge to prevent election authorities from counting mail-in ballots that arrive in the days following in-person voting, arguing that a ballot “is not a legal vote unless it is received by Election Day.”
Illinois law directs local election authorities to count ballots postmarked by the date of an election and received within two weeks of the election.
