[ti:Woman Pardoned More than 300 Years After Witchcraft Trial] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]After more than 300 years, [00:03.39]a woman who was found guilty of using witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts has been pardoned. [00:11.52]Witchcraft is traditionally described by some people [00:16.32]as using supernatural powers often involving evil spirits. [00:22.48]Some people might define modern-day witchcraft differently. [00:29.12]On May 26, Massachusetts state lawmakers officially cleared Elizabeth Johnson Jr. [00:37.96]In 1693, Johnson was found guilty of witchcraft and sentenced to death. [00:47.12]Her trial was part of the famous Salem Witch Trials which started in 1692 [00:53.88]when Massachusetts was a colony of Britain. [00:58.72]Johnson was never executed. [01:00.99]But unlike other people who were accused of witchcraft, she was never officially pardoned. [01:10.40]Last year, lawmakers agreed to reconsider her case after an eighth-grade class [01:16.87]at a Massachusetts middle school took up her cause. [01:22.52]Students at North Andover Middle School [01:25.98]researched the legislative steps needed to clear Johnson's name. [01:32.72]In a statement, their teacher, Carrie LaPierre, [01:36.51]praised her students for taking on [01:39.67]"the long-overlooked issue of justice for this wrongly convicted woman." [01:46.92]The teacher added that passing this legislation [01:50.85]will show the students the importance of helping someone who cannot help themselves. [01:58.00]The experience, she said, also can teach the students that they have a strong voice. [02:06.08](Here, the word "voice" means having the right to express a wish, choice, or opinion.) [02:14.08]State Senator Diana DiZoglio introduced the legislation [02:20.05]which was then added to a budget bill and approved. [02:25.04]DiZoglio said, "We will never be able to change [02:29.04]what happened to victims like Elizabeth but at the very least we can set the record straight." [02:38.04]A group called Witches of Massachusetts Bay told the Associated Press [02:43.47]that Johnson is the last accused witch to be cleared. [02:48.92]The group's goal is to study and record the history and stories [02:53.85]of the "witch hunts" that took place in that state. [02:57.99]Massachusetts State Senator Joan Lovely said, [03:02.55]"For 300 years, Elizabeth Johnson Jr. was without a voice, [03:08.73]her story lost to the passages of time." [03:13.84]Twenty people from Salem and neighboring towns were executed [03:19.43]and many others were accused of witchcraft during the incident which began in 1692. [03:28.68]Historians say that people who accused others of being witches did so for many reasons. [03:35.94]These included superstition, fear of disease and strangers and jealousy. [03:45.04]Nineteen people were hanged, and one man was crushed to death with rocks. [03:52.12]Johnson was 22 when she was caught up in the witchcraft accusations. [03:59.56]She was put on trial and sentenced to hang. [04:03.46]But the colony's Governor William Phips [04:07.42]threw out her punishment as the injustice of the trials became clear. [04:14.88]Over more than 300 years, [04:17.52]many suspects were officially cleared, including Johnson's mother. [04:23.68]But for some reason, Elizabeth Johnson's name [04:27.36]was not included in the legislative attempts to correct the record. [04:33.24]Unlike others who were wrongly accused, [04:36.50]Johnson never had children who could have cleared her name. [04:41.96]DiZoglio said, "Elizabeth's story and struggle continue to greatly resonate today." [04:49.26]She added, "While we've come a long way since the horrors of the witch trials, [04:55.20]women today still all too often find their rights challenged and concerns dismissed." [05:03.30]I'm Anna Matteo. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM