Case file · Witch trials
Mary Lee hanged as a witch at sea
In 1654, on the ship Charity of London bound for Maryland, sailors blamed storms on an elderly passenger, Mary Lee; when Captain John Bosworth refused to try her, crewmen searched her body, extorted a 'confession' and hanged her, throwing her body and belongings overboard.
1654 CE · 38.00, -50.00 · status: official
The account
Two passengers gave depositions in Maryland on 23 June 1654, preserved in the Archives of Maryland. Nobody was prosecuted. In recent years Maryland lawmakers have debated measures to recognise the colony's accused witches as wrongly persecuted. Position approximate.
The sceptical view
The record shows mob violence driven by fear and the belief that witches raised storms; it says nothing about real magic.