Hangman resigns in shock at sight of gallows

[Still Waters]

A newly recruited hangman in Sri Lanka has resigned in shock after being shown the gallows for the first time.

The country has not carried out a judicial execution since 1976 but has over 400 prisoners on death row.

The authorities want to have an executioner ready in case hangings resume.

http://www.bbc.co.uk...d-asia-26542991

[Arkitecht]

Time to fire up the electric chair....Ol' Sparky hasn't seen any action a long time either.Personally, i like the Guillotine. I guess i just prefer a cold chop as opposed to a fried steak...LOL!

[thedutchiedutch]

A newly recruited hangman in Sri Lanka has resigned in shock after being shown the gallows for the first time.

The country has not carried out a judicial execution since 1976 but has over 400 prisoners on death row.

The authorities want to have an executioner ready in case hangings resume.

http://www.bbc.co.uk...d-asia-26542991

Hmmmm..... can't even find descent hangman anymore .... where is this world going to ?

[Arkitecht]

http://youtu.be/XMW2lbNVaXY

[Eldorado]

Hmmmm..... can't even find descent hangman anymore .... where is this world going to ?

I know! Money for old rope and no takers.

[Kazahel]

I cant imagine anyone wanting to do that job. Same for working at an abattoir.

i like the Guillotine. I guess i just prefer a cold chop as opposed to a fried steak...LOL!

That would be horrible to witness. Especially if someone called out the name of the victim after decapitation and they opened their eyes.. I wonder what the cerebral blood pressure is to those that are decapitated. But I suppose that's more suited for another thread. Look up Charlotte Corday for an interesting read though.

[Likely Guy]

The worst a hangman can do is decapitation or strangulation. It's an macabre art and a calling, to do it mercifully and painlessly.

[Rlyeh]

That would be horrible to witness. Especially if someone called out the name of the victim after decapitation and they opened their eyes.. I wonder what the cerebral blood pressure is to those that are decapitated. But I suppose that's more suited for another thread. Look up Charlotte Corday for an interesting read though.

OMG what if they didn't close their eyes and they are trying to talk? Get a grip.

[Astral Hillbilly]

From what I've read recently, that's why our government has thousands of guillotines in storage. They allow for the harvesting of organs, which you can't do with electrocution or injection.

[Kazahel]

OMG what if they didn't close their eyes and they are trying to talk? Get a grip.

Get a grip? I said about the eyes opening to sound because it was something I had read..

From A History of the Guillotine by Alister Kershaw. His source is Archives d’Anthropologie Criminelle, 1905

I consider it essential for you to know that Languille displayed an extraordinary sang-froid and even courage from the moment when he was told, that his last hour had come, until the moment when he walked firmly to the scaffold. It may well be, in fact, that the conditions for observation, and consequently the phenomena, differ greatly according to whether the condemned persons retain all their sang-froid and are fully in control of themselves, or whether they are in such state of physical and mental prostration that they have to be carried to the place of execution, and are already half-dead, and as though paralysed by the appalling anguish of the fatal instant.

The head fell on the severed surface of the neck and I did not therefor have to take it up in my hands, as all the newspapers have vied with each other in repeating; I was not obliged even to touch it in order to set it upright. Chance served me well for the observation, which I wished to make. Here, then, is what I was able to note immediately after the decapitation: the eyelids and lips of the guillotined man worked in irregularly rhythmic contractions for about five or six seconds. This phenomenon has been remarked by all those finding themselves in the same conditions as myself for observing what happens after the severing of the neck…

I waited for several seconds. The spasmodic movements ceased. The face relaxed, the lids half closed on the eyeballs, leaving only the white of the conjunctiva visible, exactly as in the dying whom we have occasion to see every day in the exercise of our profession, or as in those just dead. It was then that I called in a strong, sharp voice: “Languille!” I saw the eyelids slowly lift up, without any spasmodic contractions – I insist advisedly on this peculiarity – but with an even movement, quite distinct and normal, such as happens in everyday life, with people awakened or torn from their thoughts.

Next Languille’s eyes very definitely fixed themselves on mine and the pupils focused themselves. I was not, then, dealing with the sort of vague dull look without any expression, that can be observed any day in dying people to whom one speaks: I was dealing with undeniably living eyes which were looking at me. “After several seconds, the eyelids closed again, slowly and evenly, and the head took on the same appearance as it had had before I called out. It was at that point that I called out again and, once more, without any spasm, slowly, the eyelids lifted and undeniably living eyes fixed themselves on mine with perhaps even more penetration than the first time. The there was a further closing of the eyelids, but now less complete.

I attempted the effect of a third call; there was no further movement – and the eyes took on the glazed look which they have in the dead. I have just recounted to you with rigorous exactness what I was able to observe. The whole thing had lasted twenty-five to thirty seconds.

Taken from here. http://blog.soulwire...ad-of-languille

While quickly grabbing that link I also found a thread on UM about it. (maybe it is an urban legend)

http://www.unexplain...pic=123372&st=0

So it could just be the body twitching after 'instant' death but it also might not be. So I was wondering what the cerebral blood pressure would be considered at if they are still in fact 'alive' for the brief time after decapitation. Because if they are then this would maybe show a potential time frame for NDE during cardiac arrest when the cerebral blood pressure is considered too low to measure/be able for the mind to basically function.

[Skep B]

The link didn't lead to an application, I'm disappointed.

I feel like my particular mix of apathy towards other's feelings and sadism makes me a perfect candidate for this position.

[redhen]

Fascinating movie here based on the life and times of Albert Pierrepoint - Britain's most prolific (and last) hangman.

http://viooz.co/movi...ngman-2005.html