Salem witch trials Salem witch trials The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. More than 200 people were accused, nineteen of whom were found guilty and executed by hanging (fourteen women and five men). One other man, Giles Corey, was pressed to death for refusing to plead, and at least five people died in jail. It was the deadliest witch hunt in the history of the United States. Twelve other women had previously been executed in Massachusetts and Connecticut during the 17th century. Despite being
Richard Carrier (Salem witch trials) Richard Carrier (Salem witch trials) Richard Carrier (July 19, 1674 – November 17, 1749) was a witness during the 1692 Salem witch trials who needed to testify against his mother. Carrier was born in 1674 to Martha Carrier (1643–1692) and Thomas Morgan (1630–1739) in Billerica. He was the second oldest of 8 children and had three sisters and two brothers. He moved to Andover with his family and survived a smallpox outbreak in 1690 of which his family was accused of causing. When Carrier was 18 years old in 1692, he was arrested together with his family on accusation of