After the unjust circumstances of her trial and execution became public, everyone involved tried to avoid blame. Even Charles VII wanted to have the verdict overturned. Not until Joan's mother, Isabelle Romme, petitioned the Church for a retrial, did anything happen. Because a bishop of the Church (Pierre Cauchon) and the Inquisitor of France (Jean Lemaitre) had convicted her, only the Pope could order a new trial.

Joan's mother and brothers stated the case for a new trial on November 17, 1455, at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. Fortunately, the clerk of the original trial, Guillaume Manchon, was still alive. Manchon testified about the improprieties he had witnessed at Joan's trial. (Scroll down halfway on this link to see documents from the rehabilitation trial and Manchon's signature.)

On June 7, 1456, the judges renounced the verdict that had condemned Joan to death. They had harsh words for Pierre Cauchon and his colleagues:

...(Joan's) Confessions have been falsely translated...

and

...even the form of certain words has been altered, in such manner as to change the substance.

Joan's status in the Church was restored. The new verdict was publicly read in the Rouen marketplace, where Joan had been burned 25 years before.

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