Finally, an End to the Murders

In May 1693, Governor Phips released all the alleged witches. However, his decision came far too late.  Roughly 30 people were accused and put on trial, 19 people were hanged, four people died in prison, one man was pressed to death, and two dogs were executed. Many scholars concluded that property disputes and congregational quarrels were a major factor in deciding who lived and who died. In the subsequent years, restitutions were made to the victims’ families and the Salem Witch Trials were extensively studied by historians and sociologists as a means of fully understanding all of the factors that contributed this unfortunate episode in American history.