Hanged by the neck until dead! |
Contents
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Introduction.
Hanging is the oldest but most widely used method of execution in the world
today. At very least, 342 men and 4 women were hanged in ten countries during
2007, many in public. These being, Bangladesh, Botswana, Iran, Iraq, Japan,
Kuwait, Pakistan, Singapore, Sudan and Syria. Sadly, the majority of those
hanged in the 21st century have still had to die by strangulation, particularly
in Iran. It is estimated that only 137 of the hangings during 2006 used a drop
designed to break the prisoner's neck. Iraq seems to have adopted the American
style of hanging and it is unclear exactly what method Jordan uses.
Hanging
remains the standard method of execution in many retentionist countries,
notably Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, several
African countries, including Botswana and Zimbabwe, and some Middle Eastern
countries including Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon and Syria and in
most Caribbean states. It is also a lawful method as an option to lethal
injection in two states of America, Washington and Delaware, which have carried
out a total of three hangings since the re-introduction of the death penalty in
1976.
It was used extensively in Iraq under Saddam Hussein and continues to be the
lawful method there under the new government which has carried out 29
executions during 2007.
Hanging
originated as a method of execution in Persia (now Iran) about 2500 years ago
for male criminals only, (women were strangled at the stake for the sake of
decency!) It was the method of choice in many countries as it produced a highly
visible deterrent without the blood and gore of beheading. In early times, it
was considered ideal because it was the simplest method to carry out, did not
give the condemned person a particularly cruel death (by the standards of the
day), made a good public spectacle as the prisoner was above the level of the
viewers and because the equipment was easy to come by - a tree, a piece of rope
and a ladder or cart, being available everywhere. Unlike beheading there was no
requirement for a skilled executioner. Beheading was the other most common form of execution, adopted
as the sole means by some countries.
There is no
means of knowing how many people have hanged worldwide in the last 2,000 years
but it is probably at least half a million. From 1800 and 1964, over 5,000
people suffered death by hanging in Britain. In America alone, it is estimated
that some 13,000 men and 505 women were hanged from the early 1600's up to
1996.
Hanging was the normal form of execution in many countries up to the end of the
19th century when there was a general trend to abolition or to use more humane
methods than the type of hanging used at that time (short drop). It was the
standard method in Britain and its colonies and was widely used in France prior
to the French Revolution and also in Germany and pre-communist Russia. It was
the lawful method in all states of America up to 1890 and continued in some
until suspension of the death penalty in 1968. Hanging was also used by many
other countries that have since abolished capital punishment such as Australia,
Austria, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Ireland, New Zealand, Poland and South
Africa. Hitler reintroduced it to Nazi Germany and very large numbers of
prisoners were executed by this method in prisons, concentration camps and in
the "field" by German soldiers between 1937 and 1945 (see The execution of women by the Nazis during World War
II).
The processes of judicial hanging.
There are 4 main forms of hanging.
The "Short Drop" method.
Hanging
using little or no drop is still used by some Middle Eastern countries,
notably, Iran. It is far more common in the 21st century than long drop
hanging.
Short drop hanging was effectively universal up to around 1850 and was usually
carried out in public. The prisoner could be suspended by a variety of means,
from the back of a cart (or later a motor vehicle), from a horse as was
sometimes used in America, by removing the platform on which they stood, as was
used in Nazi hangings and also in present day Iranian ones carried out inside
prisons, or by some form of trap door drop mechanism as was used in Britain
from 1760 and adopted by many other countries.
This 1809 picture of the triple
hanging on the “New Drop” gallows outside the Debtor's Door of Newgate in
Suspension hanging.
This
method is currently used in
In
Standard drop hanging.
A
standardised drop, of between four and six feet, was used in many American
hangings during the later part of the 19th century and into the early 20th
century. This was not worked out against the weight of the individual, but was
often equivalent to their height. It was considered as an advance on the short
drop method previously used. A drop of this distance was often not sufficient
to break the prisoner's neck, however, and many still died by strangulation,
although in a lot of cases they were knocked unconscious by the force of the
drop and the impact of the heavy coiled knot against the side of the neck.
Occasionally, they were decapitated when the drop proved to be too long, as
happened at the execution of Eva Dugan in
The "Long drop" method.
In
1872, William Marwood introduced the
concept of an accurately calculated drop for the execution of Frederick Horry
at
The long drop method was designed to break the prisoner’s neck by allowing them
to fall a pre-determined distance and then be brought up with a sharp jerk by
the rope. At the end of the drop, the body is still accelerating under the
force of gravity but the head is constrained by the noose. If the eyelet
is positioned under the left angle of the jaw it rotates the head backwards,
which combined with the downward momentum of the body, breaks the neck and
ruptures the spinal cord causing instant deep unconsciousness and rapid death.
The later use of the brass eyelet in the noose tended to break the neck with
more certainty.
The accurately measured and worked out drop removed most of the prisoner's
physical suffering and made the whole process far less traumatic for the
officials who now had to witness it in the confines of the execution shed
instead of in the open air.
The drop given in the 19th century was usually between 4 and 10 feet depending
on the weight and strength of the prisoner. The weight used to calculate the
correct drop is that of the prisoner's body. Up to 1892, the length of drop was
calculated to provide a final "striking" force of approximately 1,260
lbs. force which combined with the positioning of the eyelet caused fracture
and dislocation of the neck, usually at the 2nd and 3rd or 4th and 5th cervical
vertebrae. This is the classic "hangman's fracture". The length of
the drop was worked out by the formula 1,260 foot pounds divided by the body
weight of the prisoner in pounds = drop in feet. Between 1892 and 1913, a
shorter length of drop was used, probably to avoid the decapitation and near
decapitations that had occurred with old table. After 1913, other factors were
also taken into account and the drop was calculated to give a final
"striking" force of around 1,000 lbs. The Home Office issued a rule
restricting all drops to between 5 and 8 feet 6 inches as this had been found
to be an adequate range. In
A proper table of drops for hangmen to use was issued by the Home Office in
1892 and were subsequently revised in 1913. The 1913 table is
still used in
British
drop tables.
The
weight of the prisoner is the weight recorded when they were weighed, clothed,
the day before execution.
1892 table |
1913 table |
||
Weight of prisoner |
Drop in feet & inches |
Weight of prisoner |
Drop in feet & inches |
105 & under |
8’ 0” |
- |
- |
110 |
7’ 10” |
- |
- |
115 |
7’ 3” |
118 & under |
8’ 6” |
120 |
7’ 0” |
120 |
8’ 4” |
125 |
6’ 9” |
125 |
8’ 0” |
130 |
6’ 5” |
130 |
7’ 8” |
135 |
6’ 2” |
135 |
7’ 5” |
140 |
6’ 0” |
140 |
7’ 2” |
145 |
5’ 9” |
145 |
6’ 11” |
150 |
5’ 7” |
150 |
6’ 8” |
155 |
5’ 5” |
155 |
6’ 5” |
160 |
5’ 3” |
160 |
6’ 3” |
165 |
5’ 1” |
165 |
6’ 1” |
170 |
4’ 11” |
170 |
5’ 10” |
175 |
4’ 9” |
175 |
5’ 8” |
180 |
4’ 8” |
180 |
5’ 7” |
185 |
4’ 7” |
185 |
5’ 5” |
190 |
4’5” |
190 |
5’ 3” |
195 |
4’ 4” |
195 |
5’ 2” |
200 & over |
4’ 2” |
200 & over |
5’ 0” |
The American
Military manual specifies broadly similar drops to the above.
The graph below shows how long it takes to drop a given distance.
How hanging causes death.
Short drop and simple suspension hanging.
Hanging with little or no drop usually causes death by strangulation (asphyxia)
due to the weight of the person's body on the noose, causing it to tighten, so
constricting the trachea (air passage). The condemned typically exhibit signs
of physical struggling for some time after suspension, 1-3 minutes being
normal, although they often become unconscious within 15 seconds. The next
phase can be described as the convulsive phase, and you may read reports of
executions in the 18th/19th centuries where the person was said to be “greatly
convulsed” The legs were drawn up and their chests heaved but that does
not necessarily indicate consciousness.
The executee tends to lapse into unconsciousness as the pressure of the tightening
noose occludes the jugular vein and carotid arteries and the oesophagus
(windpipe) making breathing increasingly difficult. Compression of the
carotid bodies by the noose can cause rapid heart failure. The vertebrae
protect the vertebral and spinal arteries which also supply blood to the brain.
However, these arteries go outside the fourth vertebrae instead of inside it,
which subjects them to blockage if the pressure on the neck is high enough
(usually about 40-50 lbs. for a normal person) and this can cause the loss of
consciousness in less than 15 seconds. It was often reported that the prisoner
died "almost without a struggle” in the 17th and 18th centuries and it is
probable that this was the reason why. In these cases, they would be seen to
writhe in pain for just a few seconds before going limp.
During suspension, once the prisoner has become unconsciousness, rippling
movements of the body and limbs may occur for some time which are usually
attributed to nervous and muscular reflexes. Where death has been caused by
strangulation, the face will typically have become engorged and cyanosed
(turned blue through lack of oxygen). There will be the classic sign of
strangulation - petechiae - little blood marks on the face and in the eyes from
burst blood capillaries. The tongue may protrude. Where death has occurred
through carotid or Vagal reflex, the face will typically be pale in colour and
not show petechiae. There exist many reports and pictures of actual short drop
hangings which seem to show that the person died quickly and fairly peacefully,
while others indicate a slow and agonising death by strangulation.
Occasionally, a prisoner can be revived, even after hanging for half an hour
and there are several recorded cases of this where people lived for many years
afterwards. In
“Pole hanging”.
After the end of World War 2, Albert Pierrepoint who hanged eight men in
Standard drop hanging.
Where
the standard drop proves inadequate to break the neck, the prisoner seems often
to suffer a more cruel death than where little or no drop is used. The force
generated by a drop of 5 or 6 feet is very considerable and does great damage
to the skin, muscles and ligaments of the neck but does not necessarily induce
asphyxia any sooner. This description of a hanging at San Quentin prison in
It took ten minutes for the condemned man to die. When he was taken down and
the cap removed, "big hunks of flesh were torn off" the side of his
face where the noose had been, "his eyes were popped," and his tongue
was "swollen and hanging from his mouth. His face had turned purple."
Fortunately not all standard drop hangings were so gruesome and many prisoners
did not show any signs of physical suffering.
The
measured or long drop.
It
takes between a half and three quarters of a second for a person to reach the
end of the drop after the trap opens. The force produced by the prisoner's body
weight multiplied by the length of fall and the force of gravity, coupled with
the position of the noose is designed to violently jerk the person’s head
backwards and sideways. This causes a fracture-dislocation of the upper neck
vertebrae, ideally between the C2 & C3 vertebrae, which crushes or severs
the spinal cord leading to immediate unconsciousness. The cause of death
is comatose asphyxia. It is thought that brain death will occur in around 6
minutes and whole body death normally within 10-15 minutes. It is very
variable, however, with official reports of from 3-25 minutes for total death
to have occurred. Some slight movements of the limbs and body may
occasionally occur but are almost certainly due to spinal reflexes. Here
is an official government photograph of the long drop
hanging of an Iranian drug trafficker in
The Post-mortem report.
In 20th century Britain (and
in many other countries), a post-mortem was always carried out on the executed
person's body to establish the exact cause of death and we are fortunate to
have the report of Ruth Ellis' autopsy as carried out by Professor Keith
Simpson, who was one of the most eminent pathologists of his day. I have
reproduced it as closely as possible to the original 1950's typewriter style.
POST MORTEM EXAMINATION Name Ellis, Ruth Apparent Age 28 years. At H. M. Prison, Holloway Date |
|
EXTERNAL EXAMINATION
|
Well
nourished DEEP
IMPRESSIONS AROUND NECK from noose with a suspension point about 1 inch in
front of the angle of the L. lower jaw. |
INTERNAL EXAMINATION Skull
... ... ... Basic
Meninges Mouth,
tongue,
Stomach
and contents ... Peritoneum Liver,
and Gall bladder Spleen. Kidneys
and Ureters Generative
organs |
Fracture
- dislocation of the spine at C2 with a 2 inch gap and transverse separation
of the spinal cord at the same level.
Air
passages clear and lungs quite free from disease or other change. No
engorgement. No asphyxial changes. No
organic changes. No petechiae or other evidence of organic change. Small
food residue, and odour of brandy. No disease.
Terminal
congestion only. Slight
terminal congestion only.
|
Other
remarks ... |
Deceased
was a healthy subject at the time of death. |
CAUSE
OF DEATH ... |
Injuries
to the central nervous system |
Signed
Keith Simpson
M. D. Lond.
146,
Registrar in Forensic MedicineLondonUniversity
After death by any form of
hanging, the body will typically show the marks of suspension, e.g. bruising
and rope marks on the neck. In some cases there will have been effusions of
urine and faeces as the sphincter muscles become deprived of oxygen and thus
relax. The opening of the sphincters can also be caused by an adrenaline
rush which is common in circumstances of extreme fear. Total body death results
usually within less than 30 minutes as the brain becomes starved of
oxygen. This was one of the reasons why prisoners were left hanging for
an hour in
Experiments were carried out by F.E. Buckland, the assistant director of
pathology, British Army of the Rhine, on Nazi war criminals executed by the
British at Hameln prison in Germany after World War 2 and these found, that
although the prisoners were rendered unconscious by the drop the heart could
continue to beat for up to 25 minutes after execution. On
Male prisoners sometimes have
penile erections (priapism) after hanging due to the pooling of blood in the
legs and lower body once the heart stops. The original photograph of the
execution of the
Men may also reach orgasm on the rope. Some say this is a myth but it is
notable that in the handwritten autopsy notes of a hanging by Sir Bernard
Spilsbury (a very famous pathologist), he states that there was no
"seminal effusion" which implies that he had found this on occasion.
This may be caused by the stimulation of the penis during the conscious
struggling phase, combined with the pressure on the Vagal nerve which is
responsible for sexual arousal.
The gallows.
All manner of patterns of gallows have been used worldwide over the years.
Simple gallows, having an upright with a projecting beam cross braced to it
were commonly used in many countries, even up till the end of the Second World
War.
However for a variety of reasons, gallows’ designs became more elaborate. From
1783, the gallows at Newgate in
The American gallows, shown in this picture, is what many of
you would probably imagine a gallows to look like and is from 1894. This style
was used extensively in America and most other countries up until the early
part of the 20th century. The present day gallows in Washington's Walla Walla
prison looks most unlike this traditional pattern, consisting simply of two
massive iron eye bolts through which the rope passes, each set over a single
leaf trap operated by an electromagnetic release mechanism. (See picture). America typically used a
single leaf trap whereas Britain and countries which adopted British style
hanging typically use(d) a two leaf trap.
Modern gallows in Australia, Britain, Singapore, Malaysia and former British
colonies typically have no steps and use double trapdoors, normally operated by
a lever on the platform. South Africa used a metal beam that could be used for
up to seven prisoners simultaneously at Pretoria Central Prison prior to
abolition. In early 20th century British execution rooms there were no
uprights, the ends of beam being set into the walls, while later a concealed
beam running above the ceiling was used, as was the case at Pentonville and
Wandsworth prisons in London up to abolition.
Lebanon used this quite complex style of gallows for public hangings - the picture is of the public execution
of two men, carried out on the 25th of May 1998.
Visit the Gallows Galleries for pictures of
gallows from Britain and around the world.
The Noose.
Several
types of noose are in use worldwide. At its simplest, a noose is just a slip
knot fashioned on a length of rope or strong cord. Nazi executioners used this
pattern during World War II, typically made from 6-10 mm thick cord.
The traditional hangman's noose (picture) has from 5 to 13
coils which slide down the rope delivering a heavy blow to the side of the
neck. This pattern is still used in America and countries such as Iran and
Iraq. It tends to strangle the prisoner rather than break their neck. The
modern American coiled noose is prepared in accordance with a procedure laid
down in a U.S. army manual, from 30 feet of 3/4"-1" diameter manila
hemp rope, boiled to take out stretch and any tendency to coil. It is formed
into 6 coils and then waxed, soaped or greased to assure that the knot slides
easily.
Britain and most Commonwealth and ex-Commonwealth countries use(d) a simple
noose consisting of a loop worked into one end of the rope with the other end
passed through it, as shown here.
This was improved in the 1890's by passing the free end of the rope through a
brass eyelet instead of a loop of rope, which made it more free running. This
type of noose has been shown to cause a quicker death. It is usually made from
a 13 foot length of 3/4" diameter hemp rope, often bound with leather, as seen here. This type of noose is used
in present day Egypt, Kuwait, Singapore and Malaysia and in former British
colonies. Modern materials such as Nylon have been tried but tended to be too
elastic.
The hood.
In
most countries, at least throughout the 20th century, it has been customary to
hood the prisoner before execution. Normally, a black cotton or denim hood is
used as shown here, but in some
countries, notably Britain and its former colonies, a white linen or cotton
hood was the norm as seen here. In South Africa
and Australia a white hood was also used which was put on in the prisoner's
cell prior to them being led into the gallows chamber. Unlike the British
version, it had a flap over the eyes which was only closed just before the
drop. Typically, the prisoner is hooded only at the last moment before the
noose is put round their neck and adjusted. Although they are able to see the
gallows, the trap, the executioner and witnesses and the noose dangling before
them, most countries found it to be better than hooding them earlier and trying
to lead them to the gallows, as they were more frightened by not knowing what
was happening. It is thought that Iraq, Malaysia and Singapore hood the
prisoner before leading them to the execution chamber.
Some places such as Iran do not use a hood, although a blindfold may be used at
some public executions. There are three good reasons for hooding the prisoner.
Firstly, in long drop hangings it is very important that the condemned person
does not move at the last moment, just as the lever is being pulled - which
could easily alter the position of the noose and thus cause them a slower
death.
The second reason is to minimise rope burn and marking of the skin of the neck
which is why the hood is generally put over the head before the noose. This
also prevents the hood being blown off by the updraft created by the body
falling.
Hooding also saves the officials, who have to witness the execution, from
seeing the condemned person's face as they are about to die and after
suspension.
Pinioning.
In
modern times it is normal to pinion the prisoner's hands either in front of
them or more usually behind their back with either handcuffs or a leather
strap. Some countries use handcuffs and some use additional straps for the arms
or even elaborate leather harnesses for the arms and wrists. In long
drop/standard drop hangings, the prisoner's legs are normally pinioned with a
cord or strap around the ankles to prevent them getting their feet onto the
sides of the trap when the doors fall. In Britain, as women's skirts got
shorter in the 20th century, an extra strap was placed round the lower thighs
to prevent the skirt billowing up as they dropped and exposing their underwear.
Thigh straps were also used for men in some countries.
For short drop and suspension hangings, the legs were and still are, often left
free.
Charles Campbell, who was hanged in Washington in May 1994, was strapped to a
special collapse board (visible in the photo of the Walla Walla gallows, above)
as he was not able to support himself at the end. Other prisoners have
been hanged strapped to chairs, both they and the chair falling through the
trap.
Many
countries carry out executions in complete secrecy, e.g. Botswana, Malaysia,
Japan and Singapore so details are hard to come by. Here, however, are a few
modern hangings which have been reported in detail or actually filmed. Compare
these to a 1950's British hanging described in my History of Judicial Hanging in Britain.
A
Kuwait hanging in 2004.
Three
men who had been convicted of a particularly cruel murder of a little girl
called Amna Al-Khaledi were hanged at the Nayef Palace in Kuwait City on Monday
the 31st of May 2004. The prisoners were Marzook Saad Suleiman Al-Saeed,
aged 25, Saeed Saad Suleiman Al-Saeed, aged 28, and 24-year-old Kuwaiti Hamad
Mubarak Turki Al-Dihani. They were brought to the Nayef Palace at 8.45 on the
Monday morning and were allowed time to prepare and pray before they were
hanged. At about 9.45 they were led to the white painted metal and wood
gallows wearing regulation brown boiler suits and with their wrists and arms
strapped behind them with leather straps. Here they were made to climb the steps
up onto the platform some 10 feet above and were placed upon individual double
trap doors. Each prisoner was allocated a three man execution team, all
wearing black overalls and ski masks. Once on the trap a leather strap
was placed around each man’s ankles and a British style, leather covered eyelet
noose placed over his head, held in place by a heavy rubber washer and followed
by a black hood. They were given drops of about 7 feet and afterwards
examined by doctors with stethoscopes to determine the time of death.
Marzook Saad Suleiman Al-Saeed was pronounced dead after eight minutes, Hamad
Al-Dehani took six minutes to die, and Saeed Saad Suleiman Al-Saeed expired in
five minutes and 20 seconds. The time of death being stated as when there
is no longer a audible heartbeat. From the photographs and the length of drop
it is likely that their necks were broken. There was no report of any of
the men struggling after the drop fell and all seemed to become limp
immediately. The aftermath of the execution was witnessed by over 1000
people, including Amna’s relatives who were let into the compound to view the
dangling bodies. The scene was photographed by press photographers for
publication in the following day’s papers. Click
here for a photograph. It is interesting to note that the time taken for
these men to die is about the same as recorded in typical lethal injection
executions in the USA.
Saddam
Hussein hanged in Iraq in 2006.
Probably
the most high profile execution of our time took place on at 6:10 a.m. on
December the 30th 2006 when the former Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein was
hanged by his own people in a two-story building the Shia Khadamiya District in
Northern Baghdad. Saddam was dressed in a white shirt and dark overcoat
for his execution. He was led up the long flight of steps to the gallows
platform where he was positioned over the chequer plate metal trap doors. The
rope was looped through a metal eye on the ceiling and the free rope hung down
to its attachment point. A black scarf and a seven coil American
style noose were placed round his neck. He refused the traditional hood
and after being taunted by his guards, the trapdoors were released and he dropped
a little more than his own height through the trap and was brought to a halt by
the noose which had its knot positioned under his left ear. From the cell
phone video and still photographs it would seem that his neck was broken and
that he died quickly. He was taken down after hanging for just ten
minutes. Saddam had been convicted of the murder of 148 Shias in the town
of Dujail in the 1980s. Click here for a photo.
An
Iranian hanging in 2007.
On the 15th of July 2007 a 29 year old Iranian woman, whose name was only
given as Houriyeh, was hanged in public together with her two male
accomplices. She had murdered her husband by strangling him in his sleep
and paid the two men, Farhad and Reza, to murder three of her in-laws.
They strangled her husband’s parents and stabbed his brother to death.
Houriyeh was given a head-to-toe black chador for her execution which seems to
be the standard dress for condemned women in Iran. The three prisoners
were bought to the execution ground, their legs shackled and the hands cuffed
behind them. The American style coiled nooses were attached to a spreader
bar suspended from the jib of a crane. At the signal all three were
simultaneously lifted off the ground and became fully suspended. The two
men appeared to become unconscious very quickly but a few seconds after being
lifted into the air Houriyeh began to struggle hard which lasted for just over
a minute before she became still. Some 5,000 people, including judiciary
and police officials, witnessed the execution and it was secretly videoed on a
mobile phone. The video seems to bear out 19th century newspaper reports
of short drop hangings in Britain and the USA, where women often seemed to die
harder than men. Click here for a photograph.
Does the prisoner feel pain
where the drop is sufficient to break their neck?
Obviously
no one can be sure but it is generally held that if the person does feel pain,
it is only during the instant that their neck is broken which can be measured
in milliseconds (see below).
Those who witnessed 20th century British hangings never described any obvious
suffering on the part of the prisoner and the two post-mortem reports that are
available do not seem to indicate anything but a quick death. There were no
signs of conscious suffering in the independently witnessed hangings of
Westley Allan Dodd in Washington and Billy Bailey in Delaware. Although
death was not instantaneous (it never is) unconsciousness was. These were
the last two hanging executions in the USA.
According to Harold Hillman, a British physiologist who has studied
executions, "the dangling person probably feels cervical pain, and suffers
from an acute headache, as a result of the rope closing off the veins of the
neck. It had been generally assumed that fracture-dislocation of the neck
causes instantaneous loss of sensation. Sensory pathways from below the neck
are ruptured, but the sensory signals from the skin above the noose and from
the trigeminal nerve may continue to reach the brain until hypoxia blocks
them." This would seem to be likely where the neck is not broken,
e.g. in a standard drop US style hanging and may be accompanied by some
physical struggling.
Other research into how the brain functions has revealed that a total
loss of any awareness will take place within 300 milliseconds after the spinal
cord has been completely severed. The process of unconsciousness is triggered
by a reaction within the axons (nerve fibres) of the severed nerves. Normal
nerve signals require an antagonistic process within the axons which can only
happen if the nerve circuit is unbroken. If, however, all the large spinal
nerves are disconnected from the brain stem, as they are in measured drop
hanging or beheading, an extremely rapid reaction takes place in both ends of
the severed nerves, leading to all nerve impulses becoming stochastic (random)
instead of structured.
Consciousness is instantly lost when the process becomes stochastic, no
matter how high the activity of the brain may have been prior to it .
Furthermore, a self destroying process will begin in the axons, spreading from
the point of damage, and destroying the nerves all the way to the main synapses
within the brain. This process will be completed within only 5 seconds.
On this basis where the spinal cord is severed, a third of a second is the
maximum possible time that any pain could be felt. This is born out by
observation and the total lack of any obvious struggling.
What pain does the prisoner
feel in short drop/suspension hanging?.
It
is clear that short drop or suspension hanging is, at least initially, likely
to be very painful as the prisoner struggles for air againt the compression of
the noose and against the weight of their own body. While 1 to 3 minutes before
unconsciousness sets in may not sound a long time it must feel like an eternity
when one is suspended in agony. However a recently filmed suspension hanging
showed that the two men seemed to pass into unconsciousness almost immediately
they were lifted off the ground, whilst the woman hanged with them struggled
hard for just over a minute before becoming still. People who have survived
hanging have described the pain diminishing after a while and seeing bright
lights as they drift in unconsciousness. Observed short drop hangings in
modern day Iran show that the person does struggle at least for some moments
after suspension.
It should be clearly understood that
suicide by hanging is likely to be very painful as there will hardly ever be
sufficient drop to break the neck.
It is sometimes possible to revive a person after short drop/suspension hanging
and thus we can have an accurate idea of what they felt.
An Iranian man identified only as Niazali, was hanged in February 1996 but
survived after the victim's relatives pardoned him. He told the Iranian daily
newspaper "Kayhan" what it had felt like. "That first
second lasted like a thousand years. I felt my arms and legs jerking out of
control. Up on the gallows in the dark, I was trying to fill my lungs with air,
but they were crumpled up like plastic bags," Niazali said, describing his
hanging which lasted 20 minutes.
Hanging
versus Lethal Injection.
Many
people who support capital punishment feel that lethal injection is a better,
more modern and humane form of execution than hanging. Is this view based upon
the facts or is it purely a perception based on the fact that we have
experienced (non-lethal) injections ourselves? It is noticeable that the a
majority of the American respondents to my survey cite lethal injection as the
method they would choose for themselves, although a considerable minority of
British respondents of both sexes often choose hanging.
Execution by lethal injection takes much longer than any other method, often up
to 45 minutes for the complete process during which the prisoner is fully
conscious for 35-40 of those minutes (remember that in Britain a 20th century
hanging took, typically 10-20 seconds to carry out). This duration must
subject the prisoner to far more mental torture because they know they are
being prepared for and being put to death. Lethal injection is clearly much
less dramatic than hanging and, therefore, probably easier for the staff and
witnesses to cope with. It is suitable for both sexes and all ages of prisoners
where a suitable vein can be located. However, there is often a problem where
the prisoner has been an intravenous drug user or simply has small veins which
tend to contract even further when they are frightened.
One wonders if lethal injection is perceived as being as much of a deterrent as
hanging in the minds of criminals or whether they would feel it was a
"soft option"?
This is an important point because if the state is going to take the life of a
person at all, then surely it should seek to produce the maximum deterrence
from so doing without resorting to extreme cruelty. For a detailed look at
lethal injection, click here.
Conclusions.
Carried
out carefully and humanely, using an accurately measured drop and modern noose,
hanging is possibly the least cruel way to execute a criminal. In 20th century
Britain, the whole process was over extremely quickly and every effort was made
to reduce the criminal's mental and physical suffering. However, as can be seen
from the examples cited above, it can also be a very cruel death, if either
botched or carried out in such a way as to intentionally cause suffering. It is
probable that the countries that execute criminals using little or no drop in
public do so in the hope of achieving maximum deterrence and feel that the
criminal should be made to suffer for what they have done.