Morning journal and courier., 1884-08-26
SCIENTIFIC HANGING.
How CuIprtts May be Executed A
 namely and Decent1y.

How CuIprtts Uay be Executed Hu-
 namely and Decent1y.
 The sickening spectacle caused by the bungling that attended the execution of the negro Jefferson in Brooklyn recently, and the frequency of similar ''accidents" of late, make recent article in the Lancet by Dr. Barr, medical officer of the royal prisons, i'm portant and interesting. He regards judicial hanging in it's physiological aspects, and also from a humane point of view, believing that too much is now left to the discretion of the hangman.
 CaIcraft, it appears, invariably used the short drop (of about two feet and half, and judging from his ropes, still in exist ence, death must have been produced by slow asphyxia. Marwood adopted the long drop The American method is called "scf entific modification of running the culprit up to the yard-arm." :"
 In hanging, death may result from asphyx- ia, excess of blood in the brain, asphyxia with apoplexy, syncope (swoon) and injury to the spinal cord and the nerves ot the lungs and stomach While death from as phyxia as ordinarily brought about by the short drop should not be tolerated, it might be accomplished without much suffering The construction should be complete. The compression of veins, arteries, and 1t possible of nerves, is even of more importance i'll the production of rapid inconsistencies than the closing of the windpfpe The most suit able position of the moose is between the lower jaw and what is called the hyoid bone, the latter being very movable osseous arch at the base of the the tongue, which, says the medical lexicographer, separated entirely from the rest of the skeleton, is composed of G., ls,4s, cT7ca nf motion upon each other'' The rope should be thin and pliable, and not very elastic; silk rope would be the best. The ring should be placed under the lower jaw, and the drop should be long enough to fully compress the windpipe, blood vessels and nerves, A half. inch silk rope with drop of from four to six feet, according to the weight of the prisoner, would probably be sufficient Death from excess of blood in the brain Cerebral hyperemia) and it's combination with asphyxia are notifications of the foregoing form of death, and result from incomplete construction, the windpipe not being quite closed. The return of the blood contained in the veins is obstructed, but not the arterial supply. Hence suffoca- ton is a rather slow means of fully destroy ing life. Death from syncope or swoon may be associated with any form of hanging, but is most frequently connected with long drop It is about the most rapid and least palnful neCnOu, UuouBn PoIAoPS 0h0 In a case of syncope, Dr. Barr found the hearts action to cease in two minutes from the time the bolt was drawn. Fear largely contributes to the rapidity of the result in these cases. Death may be caused by dislo- cation or fracture of the upper bones ot the spine, with consequent laceration of the sp1- nal cord It is frequently thought that the injury arises from the rupture of igament of the atlas the first bone upon which the head rests. Such cases must be extremely rare and the facts lead to a different conclu- sion The doctor, who seems decided III ms opinion that dislocation by means ot the long drop is the most scientific method of hang ing, gives number of instances or the fe- suits of this method.
 'sIn every case the vertebre were separated at the point of injury for at least an inch, the spinal cord was severed and the vertebral ar teries and all the fragments were torn across" The shock to the nervous system produces an immediate loss of consciousness, with com plete paralysis of all he voluntary muscles. The whole time during which the shock could be felt is one-twentieth of a second. Even from this the time should be deducted which is taken up by the impression in travelling to the nervous eenters ana back Although loss of consciousness is in stantaneous, death, as shown by a cessation of the hearts action, does not take place so rapidly. The destructive effect upon the neck of the criminal is in proportion to the weight of the culprit and the length of the rope. The force of the fall is equivalent to half the mass multiplied by the square of the terminal velocity. A man weighing 40 pounds would require drop of nine feet and one weighing 120 pounds should have ten feet and a half. The rope should not be too thick nor too elastic, otherwise the ab- rupt shock will be broken and the advantage of the long drop lost; but it should not be too thin nor too inelastic or it may break, or the head of the criminal be snapped of. The knot should be placed under the angle of the lower jaw on either side and directed forward it will then be drawn un- der the chin in the act of tightening. The moose should be placed as high in the neck as possible and drawn tightly enough to hold it in position while the body is falling.
 Concerning the question of pain it seems that authorities disagree Dr. Taylor IS quoted as saying that 'fdeath from hanging appears to take place very rapidly and with. out causing any suffering to the person. 7" Prof. Tidy also speaks of the painless nature of the death. Prof. Haughton, however, says that F'the old system of taking con vict's life by suffocation is inhumanly pain ful unnecessarily prolonged and revolting to those present" Dr. Barr says: "No doubt the pain in hanging can under no circum- .+o ho vary aoufn 'f