Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1885-01-09
SCIENTIFIC HANGING.
How cu1prits May be Executed Mumane1y
and Decently-Tha Question Of Pain.

How Cu1prits May be Executed NumaneIy
and Decently--Tha Question Of Pain.
The slckening spectacle caused by the bum
Cling that attended the execution of the negro
Jefferson in Brooklyn, recently, and the fire.
quency of similar accidents" Of late, make
recent article in the Lancet by DR.. Barr, medi-
Cal officer of the roya! prisons, important and
interesting. He regards judicial hanging in
its physiological aspects, end also from hui
name point of view, believing that too much is
now left to the discretion Of the hangman
Calcraft, it appears, invariably used the short
drop (of about two feet aud half, aud iudg-
ing from his ropes, still In existence, death
must have been produced by slow asphyxia
Marwood adopted the long drop. The Ameri-
can method Is called "a scientific modification
of running the cnlprit up to the yard
In hanging, death may result from asphyxia,
excoss of blood in the brain, asphy1ia with
apoplexy, syncope (swoor), and injury to the
spinal cord and the nerves CT the lungs and
stomach. While death from asphyxia, as or
dinarily brought about oy the short drop,
should not be tolerated. it might he &C.
complished without much suffering. The con-
striction should be complete. The compress
sion OF veins, arteries, and If possible, OF
nerves, is Of even moro Importance in the pro
duction Of rapid Inconsistencies than the clos
ton of moose is between the lower jaw and
what is called the hyoid bone, the latter being 8
very movable osseous arch at the base OF
, the tongue: which, says tie medical lcx!cng-
, rapher, separated entirely from tho rnst
Of the skeleton, is composed Of five dis
on each other" Tie rope should be t';u
and plah!c, and lot very elastic; d
silk rope would be the b'ss The ring should
be placed under the over jaw and the drop
should be long enough t3fully compress tho
wlldplpe b!ood-vessuis :nd nerves. A half
feet, according to the weight of the prisoner
would probably be sufficient Deaths from
excess of blood in tn" brain Cerebral hvper-
mia and It's combination with asphy.ia are
notifications OF the foregoing form Of death
and result from incomplete construction, Tho
: windpipe not boiug quite closed The return
of the blood contained III the veins is obstruct-
cd, but not the arterisl supply. Hence sltfo-
cation is q rather slow means fully destroy
ing life. Dcalh from syneupe or swoou mag
be associated with hanging. but is most fro
Iuently conne' ted will. the long drop. It is
about the mos rapid .n, least painful moth
Of sync,'rc, Dr.. Barr found the hcatts
action to cease in two minutes from
the time the holt was drawn. Fear j;,rs ,ly
contributes 10 the J,rilt; Of the result il. these
cases. De1.th may b, caused by dislocatr,n
fracture OF the Ep1cr bones Of the spine, with
consequent larrrav ~ o. the spinal cord. 1t is
frequently thoughJ that III! in ury arises FROM
the rupture Of liSal,".s: n thc atlas, the trsa
bone u!,on which the t,>'.L rests. Such cases
must be extremely ~, a"u tho facts le.I ~
different conclusion iLt4 Doctor who s,.l:1na
decided in his opinion that slocation i,y IL ans
Of the long drop Is che scientific 70, nod
of hanging, gives a ]l1,Ilter @ stances O. tbs
results of this method.
'EIn every case the yortebrp were separated
at the point of injury for at least incl, the
spinal core was severed, and the vertebr;I lr-
tories and ali the ligatnents were torn arr,joa."
The shock to the nervous system produces an
immediate loss of consciousness, with culupan,
paralysis Of all voluntary muscles.
The whole time during; which the shock o'lid
be felt is One-tWentlrth OF q second Eyru
from this the time must be deducted which is
taken up by tbs impression in travelling 10 the
nervous centers and back Although less II
consciousness is instantaneous, death, as .nr sd
by q cessation Of the hearts action, doe not
take place so rapidly. The destructive effect
upon the neck Of the criminal IL i'll proportion
to the weight Of the :nlrrit ail. the rope Tie
force Of the fall i: eq:v2"nt to half the mass
multiplied by the square 'f the terminal ve''r.
ity A MAN weighing l - pounds ulll''l'iie
drop of rno feet and ono "rriG ling 10 pJn.i!s
should have tan an: q hall feet TIE
rope should not o.: $40 'hcA no! too c.As-
tic otherwise the ABRUPT shD.k VIII Ia
hrc ken and and The advantages .. til.
lu., dlor lost but il "lo,liI not b. too
shin or TO neasti:. ar It may break, or tho head
OF the criminal BE snapped Of. The knot
should be placed under tho anHv 0: he lower
jaw on either side and di,;:tel forward; il will
then b drawn u,.,ler the chin in the act OF
tightening Tho moose Tltonld be placed lie
In. in the neck as ;os5'hie and drawn tightly
crou3h to hold ii IN position while the body Is
falling.
Concerning the question Of pain ltseen,s that
authorities disagree. Or. Taylor is quoted as
saving that '<feath from hanging appears to
take place very rapidly and without causing
any suffering to tho person. Professor Tidy
also speaks Of the painless nature Of the death
Professor Haughton, however, says that 'ths>
old system of taking a convic:s Life by soifoca-
longed, and revolving to those present" DR..
Barr says "No doubt the pain in hanging can
under no circumstance BE- very acute