At the time of the Salem Witch Trials, the intertwining of religion and government did not grant the citizens of Salem, Massachusetts, the right to a fair trial, it was therefore the States' responsibility to separate the two. In the 1600s, the Puritan religion was greatly reinforced by the government. It was not until several years later that the separation of church and state became law. The Salem Witch Trials occurred when hundreds of citizens of Salem, Massachusetts were tried for devil worship or witchcraft and more than 20 were executed in 1692. It is an example of mass religious paranoia . This whole ordeal began in the home of Reverend Samuel Parris. People soon began to notice strange behavior from Parris's slave, Tituba, and her daughters. Many claimed to have seen Parris's daughters doing magical dances in the woods and falling to the ground screaming hysterically. Soon after, this strange behavior began to spread throughout Salem. Most of the charges were brought against innocent people for reasons of economic conditions, teenage boredom, and personal jealousies. Of course, there was also the fact that people were unaware of certain mental illnesses caused by their environment. For example, one of the first people accused of witchcraft was a young girl named Betty Paris who one day became very ill with convulsive erogtism. Ergot is a fungus that invades growing rye grains. So it's very likely that she got sick just from eating the bread. As people were scientifically unable to explain her sudden seizures and hallucinations, she was accused of witchcraft. This form of accusation does not result in any form of justice. The accusers weren't even able to explain what happened themselves, so instead of worrying about the... middle of paper ... ged. His case is probably not the only one to end this way. In 1702, the general court finally declared the trials illegal. Shortly afterward, the main accuser, Anne Putman, had to apologize to the people of Salem, as well as Samuel Sewall, a judge at the trials, publicly confessed his guilt and apologized. The Rev. Samuel Sewall also admitted his error of judgment, but he mostly blamed others. Massachusetts even officially apologized for the Salem event. Although it took ten years, the trials finally ended and the citizens of Salem were able to live with the right to a fairer trial. Unfortunately, after the whole ordeal, the Salem community fell apart. The General Court set out on the path of separating the beliefs of the Church and the government. Fortunately, years later, a law would be passed in the Constitution that would separate Church and State..