Modern Day Witch Trial
CENTRAL ISLIP, New York (AP) — Was she casting spells or teaching spelling?
In an unfolding trial, lawyers are debating a former teacher’s claims in a $2 million federal lawsuit that she was improperly fired from Hampton Bays elementary school because administrators and others thought she was a witch.
Lauren Berrios, 37, who denies ever practicing witchcraft, sued in 2001 after she was fired following her second year as a reading specialist teacher. She has since moved to the Atlanta, Georgia, area, where she is working as a teacher. The trial in the lawsuit began Wednesday in New York.
While the school district was not under obligation to explain why Berrios was not granted tenure, its lawyer claimed Wednesday that Berrios didn’t get along with co-workers, had a condescending attitude and was eventually reported to Child Protective Services after telling tales about imaginary injuries to her own son.
“It’s been quite a long time since we’ve seen a witch trial in this country,” defense attorney Steven Stern told a jury during opening statements in U.S. District Court. full story