Historical Methods of Capital Punishment

Can you imagine someone getting executed for stealing an apple from their landlord's tree? Or someone getting decapitated for shoplifting? Bizarre, it might sound, but such petty 'crimes' accounted for capital punishment during the medieval period. There were several hundred offenses which 'qualified' for death penalty. Also, convicts were executed in the most heinous way possible.

Some of the historical methods of capital punishment were:

Hanging
Hanging was first adopted as a method of execution about 2500 years ago in Persia. It was reserved for male criminals only. It was considered as less gruesome, less bloody and a cheap method of execution. Moreover, no skilled executioner was needed to perform the job. Hanging is still practiced in some countries like Singapore, Japan, India, Pakistan and three states in USA.

Decapitation
Decapitation or beheading by sword or axe was a common execution practice in Europe until 1850. The chastisement was reserved for person's belonging to upper class, noblemen etc. This execution method originated from the Roman civilization. This was a bloody and messy method of execution but at least the victim was spared of the torture and pain. Decapitation was last practiced in Bavaria in 1954, after which guillotine replaced it as an execution method.

Burning at the Stake
This was the most common method of execution for people accused of witchcraft or heresy. The victim would be tied to a stake with chains or ropes on top of a heap of faggots. In another method, the faggots would surround the stake with victim tied to it, allowing him to die in flames. The execution would often take place in public view, so as to ascertain the consequences of the offense.

Drowning
Drowning was particularly reserved for women offenders. It was considered as a painless and 'mild' form of execution. Also some favored male offenders were granted this 'privilege.' Drowning was also mostly used in the cases of involvement of witchcraft. The basic idea was that the accused person would float if he/she were a witch and drown if innocent.

Crucifixion
This is probably the most glorified method of execution. The most famous victim of crucifixion is none other than Jesus Christ. This is a painful method of execution in which the condemned would be nailed to a wooden cross and left there to die.

Quartering by Horses
There are not many incidences of execution by this method. The few that took place have a scary recount in the chronicles. This method of execution was reserved for the crimes pertaining to the murders and attempts to murder of people of royal descent.

Wheel
Wheel was used in many ways for the execution purpose. A person would be either tied to the outer rim of the wheel and the wheel would be made to rotate against a nailed surface, or a person would be made to lie across the slow moving wheel and people would break his limbs with iron bars.

Stoning
This method is mostly practiced in Islamic countries. The main offense that accounts for this method of execution is adultery. The victim is tied to the pole in front of a large gathering of people. Stones are pelted at the victim by the large number of people gathered at the venue. This is by far the most torturous and cruel method of execution.

Strangulation
Strangulation was reserved for women who were accused for the offense that accounted execution by hanging. Strangulation was performed with garrot, a special device for ligature strangulation.

Impalement
No offender in the world deserves this punishment, whatsoever his crime may. The method includes stabbing a long stake through one end of the body and taking it out from the other. The stake would be inserted in the private organs of the offenders.

These were some of the methods for capital punishment. There are records of other violent and brutal execution methods being practiced in that era. A large number of people upon whom capital punishment was inflicted shows that crime cannot be deterred by resorting to such inhuman practices. They can only end the criminal career of a single convict, but society can never be truly freed of crime unless the cause of crime itself is eradicated.