On October 8th after the 20 executions in the Salem Witch-Hunt, Thomas Brattle wrote a letter criticizing the Witchcraft trials. This letter had a great influence on Governor Phips, who had ordered that reliance on spectral and intangible evidence no longer be allowed in trials.
On October 29th Governor Phips dissolved the Court of Oyer and Terminer. The Superior Court of Massachusetts tried the rest of the Witchcraft cases in January 1693. Of the 52 persons tried, 49 were cleared and only three were found guilty. The last Witchcraft trials were to be held during May 1693 in Boston, this time no one was found guilty. By this time, Governor Phips had received a letter from England that convinced him to end the trials once and for all.
Governor Phips had issued a proclamation that excused everyone and granted freedom to the people who did flee to escape persecution. A few years later, the girls who started the hysteria, the judges, and many of the accusers who took part in the accusations asked for forgiveness for their actions.
On October 17, 1711, an Act of the colonial legislature returned all of the property taken from the victims and their families. The families were also paid compensation for their losses. This Act officially ended all government actions relating to the trials of 1692. However, in Salem, the accusations and resentment would be felt for years to come.
