In response to reports that the Scottish government plans to pardon people—mostly women—convicted under the terms of the Witchcraft Act of 1563, Legal History Miscellany examines the history of posthumous pardons and why governments bother to issue them long after the subjects are dead.
Interesting article, but we’re less interested in the legal history than the story fodder. What benefit would a witch earn from a posthumous pardon? Who would instigate the matter? What would happen to the official who denied it?
