11:31 AM EDT on Monday, July 10, 2006

Associated Press

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) -- It took 300 years, but Grace Sherwood's name has finally been cleared.

Governor Tim Kaine on Monday exonerated Virginia's only convicted witch tried by water and accused of using her powers to cause a woman to miscarry.

His action came on the 300th anniversary of Sherwood's "ducking."

In a letter read before a local re-enactment, Kaine said, "I am pleased to officially restore the good name of Grace Sherwood." The governor did not attend the re-enactment.

On July 10th, 1706, Sherwood's thumbs were tied to her toes, cross-bound, and she was dropped into a river. She floated -- proof she was guilty because the pure water cast out her evil spirit, according to the belief system of the time.

Each year, Belinda Nash and a small group remember Sherwood with a re-enactment. Nash had pushed for the governor's exoneration of the Witch of Pungo, as Sherwood was known.

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)