Salem, September 1693
His Excellency Phillip Bishop Governor of New England
Sir, it is in our belief that you will well know of the curse that has held Salem Town in its grip not long past. Saints and Sinners alike were dragged before the Court and hung high no matter how they pled. The Innocent and the Guilty now burn together in the fires of Hell with Witchcraft to their names.
So many died. Accusations were rooted not in fact but in Jealousy and in Vengeance. In the words of John Proctor: Vengeance is walking Salem.
Martha Corey, a good woman of upright Christian bearing, lies in the ground hung on the words of Mr Walcott who was of the belief that she had lain Witchwork against his livestock. Yet it is well known within the town that Mr Walcott is not to be trusted with any animal less that trust is that it will perish for want of care.
Elizabeth Proctor's reputation lies in ruins and her husband in the ground. Months she passed in jail on the words of a whore whose lust for her husband was common knowledge.
Many more good citizens and Christians rot in the earth of Salem. Notably among them Giles Corey, John Proctor and Rebecca Nurse.
We of Salem know that these crimes that hang over us all cannot be undone now that the dead are long gone to their rest. However we the undersigned covenanted citizens of Salem Town ask three things of you.
We ask first that formal apology be made to those who were unjustly jailed and to the memory of those who died. That those who sat at court and spoke the guilty verdict admit their wrongdoing and make amends in the eyes of the Lord and the names of the dead.
The Justice that was brought was no Justice at all. To accuse one was as good as to condemn. To breath a name was to place a noose about their neck. Innocents were doomed to die at the words of children. To quote John Proctor: we are what we always were in Salem but now the little crazy children are jangling the keys to the kingdom.
We ask in second that those who languished in jail and the families of those who died received compensation and support. That the possessions taken from the homes of those jailed be returned. That those who sought others land return that which they gained. That the names of those who were hung high above the village be cleared in the eyes of the Law and that their memories and their souls be allowed back into the house of God,
Finally we ask that your Excellency appoint a day of fasting and remembrance for all years to come so that the names and stories of those who died will never be forgotten. So that Salem may not again become the Hell it had been these past months. So that Lucifer may not again walk these streets as he does please and reap the souls of their citizens for his pleasure.
We of Salem do humbly beg these three things of you in the names of God and of all those who died.