History's worst forms of capital punishment

[Canmoore]

What do you think are the most barbarous forms of punishment through out the ages?

I was watching a show on the Romans, about how they scoured the empire for animals for there great games in the amphitheaters, it described in detail how they publicly punished criminals.

In Rome, people who committed serious crimes were no longer seen as human. So they were tied to stakes, and wheeled into the amphitheaters, and then great beasts like leopards, tigers, lions, bears, wolves.. would eat them alive.

Perhaps the most horrific way to die, however effective.

It showed the Roman people in the audience, that this is what happens when you break the law and cease to be human. In turn, you become a beast, and you must die by the beast.

Other forms of capital punishment...which was just purely bizarre and weird. A criminal would be dressed in an elegant gown, and pluck at a harp as animals such as birds, deer, rabbits and whatever would hop and fly around the person..symbolizing some story in history.. Than an angry bear would be released and it would charge and eat the criminal in some type of perverse symbolism.

[sappersgt]

Historically I'm thinking flaying. That is removing the victim's skin while still alive. I read that during the "peasants war" (baurenkrieg?) prisoners would have the skin removed from one of their arms, from the shoulder down. They were then left to die from shock (if you're lucky) or infection.

In modern times I think the "Joberg necklace" is right up there. Force a tire filled with gasoline or diesel over the victims shoulders and light them on fire. Anyone who's ever tried to get the water out of an old tire will understand. The molten rubber and gasoline mix is just like napalm. The victims agonised movements just spread it around. The worst part is it doesn't always kill right away, leaving a still breathing (barely) victim with all of the flesh burned away from their skull, chest and upper extremities. The most cruel and brutal way to die I can think of.

[tankie]

Burnt alive at the stake .

[troung]

Historically I'm thinking flaying. That is removing the victim's skin while still alive. I read that during the "peasants war" (baurenkrieg?) prisoners would have the skin removed from one of their arms, from the shoulder down. They were then left to die from shock (if you're lucky) or infection.

When I saw the topic I was about to post the same thing.

[Trovinras]

What Vlad did to the turkish troops.

Staking the survivors.

[bolo121]

The blood eagle

[Trovinras]

Did that even exist in reality?

[maximusslade]

Byzantium's putting out of the eyes.

Romes crucificion.

[bolo121]

Did that even exist in reality?

Cant be said for sure, depends on which intepretation of norse myths you give most weight to.
But still the nastiest method of execution i ever read of.

[Trovinras]

From what I have read there is some disagreement to whether it was fiction ore myth.

But yes nasty way to die on.

[dave lukins]

Boiling in oil

[RustyBattleship]

The ancient Chinese method of executing people of (former) high standing or royalty was wrapping a slilk bow string around the neck and by turning the bow garroting the condemned.

They also used a method where they tied up the condemned from head to toe and rolled him up in several rugs, then tied the ends of the rugs to keep air out and let him suffocate.

Also, the Spanish garrot was an excrutiating way to go. I have seen photographs (not drawings or etchings but REAL photographs) of execution by garrot.

That is by the strangulation ONLY garrot. They also had a garrot chair that not only strangled you but screwed in a four-edged arrowheadlike blade into the back of your neck.

[gunnut]

The Chinese were pretty good at torture deaths. I can think of a few just off the top of my head that would be pretty horrifying.

There's the "death by 1,000 cuts." The condemned would be tightly bound in a fishnet. The executioner then takes a knife and scrape off pieces of skin protruding forced from the fishnet. It takes some skill. The executioner would be found guilty if the prisoner dies before 1,000 cuts were administered.

Another form of execution is to cut the prisoner in half at the waist. It takes a while to die.

Then there's skinning. The prisoner's hair would be shaved off. A small cut would be placed at the top of the head...not too deep, just enough to reach the dermis layer. Drop mercury into the cut. Mercury is so heavy that will roll right through and seperate the epidermis from the dermis. Then you peel. Takes a great long while to die, usually from infection. And it was extremely painful.

[RustyBattleship]

This sort of reminds me of an episode of "Mythbusters" where they experimented with the so-called "Water Torture". A victime is tied down to a table and a bucket of water overhead is positioned so that a small hole in the bucket would drip down on the person's forehead every few seconds.

The myth was confirmed. Adam Savage couldn't take it too long at all especially being the most impulsive one on the team.

Kari Byron couldn't take it either.

Nor could I.

Seeing Kari Byron strapped down to a table, wincing and jerking her head at each water drop ---- oh, never mind.

[gunnut]

Booooooh...I thought you have a picture of her all tied up on a table...