What body declared the Salem witch trials unlawful in 1702?

The General Court of Massachusetts declared the Salem witch trials unlawful in 1702. This was the colony’s legislature, and its declaration acknowledged that the proceedings and convictions had not been legally sound.

The trials had relied heavily on spectral evidence—claims that a person’s invisible spirit or apparition had attacked someone. By the end of 1692, prominent ministers and officials increasingly questioned whether such evidence could justify convictions. The special Court of Oyer and Terminer was dissolved, and the remaining cases were reconsidered under a different court.

The 1702 declaration was an important step toward repairing the legal damage, but it did not immediately erase every consequence. In 1711, the colonial legislature passed a bill reversing the attainders of 22 named individuals and providing compensation to survivors and relatives. Later Massachusetts laws cleared additional victims.

The General Court should not be confused with the Court of Oyer and Terminer, which conducted many of the 1692 proceedings. One prosecuted the cases; the other later repudiated their legality.