This is a bit of a random one... But does anyone local know a bloke by the name of Arthur Stuttard, a retired barrister from Higham? Supposedly, he failed in his attempt to secure a royal pardon for the Pendle Witches after contacting the Ministry of Justice and the Criminal Cases Review Commission over a two-year period... He then decided to write to the Queen in a last-ditch attempt to gain a pardon in which he wrote it would be a “nice touch” if Her Majesty could “rectify matters 400 years later” in the Jubilee year... And I just NEED to meet him! Obviously shes related to King James and this would undermine her ancestor and open a whole can of worms in the establishment... For injustice and corruption... He led authority at the time publishing a book in 1597 called Demonologie. All judges across the country would have had a copy of this. Me and Christopher Castro Michael Tew have decided to film a movie on the witches and were hoping to get as many local historians and people involved. :-) Might even re-ignite the campaign to pardon the free thinking women of Pendle who were wrongly accused of witchcraft. ;) Some witches tried and executed in Scotland before 1735 received a pardon in 2004 In a letter to Mr Stuttard, the Ministry of Justice stated that the granting of a free pardon was “extremely rare” (only one has occurred in modern times) and that the granting of a blanket pardon to a number of individuals was “not the usual practice”. The letter added that reviewing the cases of the 12 convicted witches would be unlikely “because of the length of time that has elapsed since the convictions and executions” and because there is “no evidence that demonstrates conclusively that no offences were committed or that the individuals concerned did not commit any such offence”. How the heck can the ministry of justice actually make that statement when part of the evidence was that one of the spirits turned into a dog? Maybe Ball was there with me outside Nelson Town Hall when these Tories tried imposing the extortionate fines ;) #InSpirit ;) In recent years children as young as three have given evidence in court cases, but in the past children under 14 were seen as unreliable witnesses. A notorious 17th Century witch trial changed that. Nine-year-old Jennet Device was an illegitimate beggar and would have been lost to history but for her role in one of the most disturbing trials on record. Jennets evidence in the 1612 Pendle witch trial in Lancashire led to the execution of 10 people, including all of her own family. In England at that time paranoia was endemic. James l was on the throne, living in fear of a Catholic rebellion in the aftermath of Guy Fawkes gun powder plot. It was a mandate for the British to fight witches, explains Prof Ronald Hutton from the University of Bristol. At the time Lancashire had a reputation for being full of trouble-makers and subversives. Jennet lived with her mother Elizabeth, her grandmother Demdike, older sister Alizon and brother James in the shadow of the Pendle hill. Villagers dubbed Demdike a cunning woman. In March 1612, Alizon cursed a pedlar who would not give her any pins. The pedlar collapsed and his son reported it to an ambitious local magistrate, Roger Nowell. He interviewed Alizon, who confessed to bewitching the pedlar but also accused their neighbours, who the family were having a feud with, of bewitching and killing four people. The neighbours pointed the finger straight back at Demdike, accusing her of witchcraft. Nowell was extremely zealous, he sees his route to success in his career is to identify non-conformists, that could be Catholics or witches, and bring them to justice. He arrested Alizon, granny Demdike, as well as their neighbours Anne Whittle (also known as Chattox) and her daughter Anne Redferne. Jennets mother then hosted a party on Good Friday, when all good citizens should have been in church. A local constable heard rumours of a meeting of witches, so arrested everyone present. The family also implicated others and all were accused of trying to plot to kill a man using witchcraft. Alice Nutter, from a respectable land-owning family, her sister-in-law, nephew and friend were among those arrested. At that time they were a strong Catholic family. I think [Nowell] thought he would curry favour with the King and the powers that be if he was catching Catholics as well, says Colin Nutter, a descendant of Alice who still lives near the Pendle hill. She was used as a pawn for his own ends really. is book Demonology, James l wrote: Children, women and liars can be witnesses over high treason against God. This influenced the justice system and led to Nowell using Jennet as his key witness. The clerk of the court, Thomas Potts, wrote a book of all the notes he made of the trial, which became a bestseller and spread the story far and wide. In The Wonderful Discoverie of Witches in the Countie of Lancaster, Potts recounted how Jennets mother Elizabeth screamed out when her daughter entered the court. Jennet demanded her mother be removed and then climbed on a table and calmly denounced her as a witch. Her convincing evidence was believed by the jury and after a two-day trial all her family and most of her neighbours were found guilty of causing death or harm by witchcraft. The day after they were hanged at Gallows Hill. But Jennets influence went far beyond Lancashire. Thomas Potts writings and Jennets evidence were included in a reference handbook for magistrates, The Country Justice. The book was used by all magistrates, including those in the colonies in America, and led them to seek the testimony of children in trials of witchcraft. So at the notorious Salem witch trials in 1692, most of the evidence was given by children. Nineteen people were hanged. But the law stated those under 14 were not credible witnesses because they could not be sworn under oath. Jennets testimony changed all that. Today children of any age can be called to give evidence as their competence depends upon their understanding not their age. Ultimately though, Jennet fell victim to the very precedent she set herself in 1633. Twenty years after the trial she too was accused of witchcraft along with 16 others by 10-year-old Edmund Robinson. But this means... That if we fight for the pardon of these women... WE CHANGE HISTORY... WHOS UP FOR HELPING WITH THE CAMPAIGN??????????
Posted on: Fri, 31 Oct 2014 19:37:31 +0000
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