Most "witches" were hanged, rather than the burning at the stake of popular imagination.
多数“女巫”被绞死了，胜过通常想象的绑在树桩上烧死。
We usually associate heretic with religion, namely, the Roman Catholic Church: Inquisition, burning people at the stake, etc.
But with respect to the latter the burning of witches at the stake ended when the authorities stopped gratifying that desire.
Forget the idea of burning unsuccessful but honest executives and entrepreneurs at the stake.