The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1884-09-01
HOW To HANG.
MAKE EXECUTIONS SCIENTIFIC.
Cam Telon's be "Worked or" Humane. y
and ID, cently?-The Question Of
Pain-The Rope and How to
Use Ito her Ways.

The sickening spectacle caused by the
bungling that attended the execution of
the negro Jefferson, in Brooklyn, re-
Gently, and the frequency of similar
"accidents" of late, makes recent ar
ticle in the Lancet by Or. Barr, medical
officer of the royal prisons, important
aud Interesting. lie regards ilaic'".
hanging IN it. physiological aspects, and
al}o from humane point OF view, oc
ligVing that 100 much Is now lett 10 the
uiscrei n o ,Ae hHnglHpp.
Calcralt, II appears, invariably used
the short drop tOi apuIi tWo tcet and q
half, an Judging from his ropes stu
in existence, death must have been pro-
duced by slow a-phyXia. Marwood
adopted the long drop. The American
method Is called "a scientific mOdiilca
ton of running tho cuiprit up to the
yard ARM
In hanging, death may result from
asphyXia, excess OF blood i'll the brain,
asphyXia with apopleXy, sy cop |
(swoon), and injury / the spinal cord |
and the nerves Ofthr lungs and stomach. |
While death from asphyXia, as Ordin- |
arily brought about by the short drop,
should not be tolerated, il might be ac-
complished without much suffering.
The construction should be complete.
The compression of veins, arteries, ami,
Importance Ia the production of rapid
Inconsistencies than the closing of the
windpipe. The most suitable position
of the moose is between the lower jaw
and what is called the h"uid bone, the
latter being II very movable osseous arch
at the base of the tongue, when,
says the medical photographer, "separa
ted entirely from the rest of the skule
ton, is composed oftive distinct portions
susceptible Of motion upon each other"
The rope should be thin and plable,
and not very elastic; a silk rope would
be the best. The ring should be placed
undcr the lower jaw, and the drop
should be long enough to fully compress
the windpipe, blood vessels and nerves,
A hall-inCh six rope with drop Of
from f0ur to six feet, according to tho
weight of the prisoner, would pro- ably
he sufficient Deaths from excess OF
blood in the brain Cerebral hyp1rmia)
and its combination with asphyNia are
notifications of the foregoing form Vt
death and result from incomplete cOu-
strlction, the windpp3 not being qliJe
closed The return al the bloud col-
tanned in the veins is onstructed, but not
the arterial supply. Hence
suilocatiOn is rather slow
means of fully destroying life
associated with any form of hanging
but is most frequently connected with
the long drop. II Is about the most
rapid and least painful method, though
perhaps the rarest. In a case of syn
cope, DIR. Barr found the hearts actor
to cease in two minutes from the time
the bolt was drawn. Fear largely con
tributes to the rdpidity # the result il
these cases. Death may be caused by
dislocatOn or fracture of the uppe
bones of the spiue, with consequent llc
GRAFTON of the spinal cord. IL Is trt
quently thought that the injury arise
from the rupture of lig3m0nt of tn
atlas, the first bone upou which tn
head rests. SUCH cgSos must be OK
trcmely rare, aud the facts lead to
different conclusion. The Doctor, VIII
seems decided in his opinion that dtSC
cation by means OF the long drop ~ I'll
most scientific method of hanging, give
auunb3r of instances of tho results
tn $ method.
In every case the vortebrp were soI
ar ted Mt the point of injury for nc leW
az inch, the spinal cord was severed, an
the yertebral arteries and all The llg
mentS were torn across" The shock
t. o nervous system produces an lmm
diate loss OF consciousness, with con
plete paralysis of all the voluntary mu
cles.
The whole time during which Il
shock could be felt Is One.twentioth of
second. Even from this the time mtl
be deducted which Is taken up by VI
impression in travelling To the nervol
centers and back. Although loss Of co
seriousness Is instautiu death,
shown by n cessation of the heart
action, does not take place so rapid
The destructive effect upon the neck
the criminal is in proportion to the weig
of tho culprt and the length of the rOl
The force of the fall Is equivalent to h.
the mass multiplied by the square
tho terminal velocity. n man woighi
lao pounds would require drop Of nj
feet and one weighing 40 pounds shou
have ten and half feet. The 10
should not be too thick nor too elast
otherwise the abrubt shock will
broken and the advantages of the lo
drop lost; but 1t should not be TOO I'll
or too inelastic, or ii may break, or
head OF the criminal be snapped oil. I
knot should DO placed undet tho angle
the lower jaw on eithcr side aud direct
forward; IL will then bc drawn under
chin in the net of tightening. The mo-
should be placed rs high in the neck
possible, and drawn tightly enough
hold 1t in position while the body
falling.
Concerning tho question of pain
seems that authorities disagree,
Taylor is quoted as saying tnat "do
from hanging appears to take place v
rapidly and without causing any sut
ing to the person." Prof. Tidy y
speaks OF the painless nature Of
death. Prof. lIaughton, howovorr $
that "the old system of taking u G
vict's life by suffooation is unhuma
painful, unnecessarily prolonged
revolving to those present" Dr. n
says: "No doubt the pain in hang
Aiau under no circumstances 10 Y
acute"
Little Joker" IL the best smoking