Petition · past parliament
We ask Government to request Monarch’s pardon of Anne West of murder conviction.
Closed
103 signatures
What the petition asks
Anne West was hanged for murder by witchcraft in 1645. Her fourteen year old daughter Rebecca had been coerced into testifying against her mother, in trade for her own freedom. Granting Anne a pardon can go some way in exonerating all witch hunt victims, and strengthening our stand on human rights.
References:
Essex Record Office, ERO Archivists LS , www.essex.gov.uk/ero; http://seax.essexcc.gov.uk
Gaskill, Malcolm, Witchfinders, A Seventeenth-Century English Tragedy 2005, John Murray, London
Thurston, Robert W., The Witch Hunts, A history of the witch persecutions in Europe and North America, 2007.
Wallington, Nehemiah circa 1660 Diary, John Ryland Library at the University of Manchester in Manchester, England http://enriqueta.man.ac.uk:8180/luna/servlet
Essex Record Office, ERO Archivists LS , www.essex.gov.uk/ero; http://seax.essexcc.gov.uk
Gaskill, Malcolm, Witchfinders, A Seventeenth-Century English Tragedy 2005, John Murray, London
Thurston, Robert W., The Witch Hunts, A history of the witch persecutions in Europe and North America, 2007.
Wallington, Nehemiah circa 1660 Diary, John Ryland Library at the University of Manchester in Manchester, England http://enriqueta.man.ac.uk:8180/luna/servlet
Timeline
| 16 Oct 2015 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 16 Apr 2016 | Closed to new signatures |
Key facts
Signatures
103
Status
Closed
Opened
16 Oct 2015
Closed
16 Apr 2016
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.