The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1885-01-16
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The s,ckening spectacle caused by the bun
cling that attended the execution Of the negro
JEFFERSON. in Brooklyn, recently, and the fire.
ouency Of similar accidents" Of late, make .
recent article in the Lancet BY DR.. Barn, medi.
cal officer Of the royal prisons, important and
interesting. He regards judicial hanging in
it's physiological aspects, and also from . hui
msne 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 and 8 half), and judy
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 50 scientific modification
Of running the culprit up to the yard-arm.n
In hanging, death may result from asPhytia.,
apoploxy, syncope (swoon), and injury to the
spinal cord and the nerves of the lungs and
stomach. While death from asphy1ia, as or
dinarily brought about oy the short drop,
should not be tolerated, It might be &C
s%triction should be complete. The compress
sion OF veins, arteries, and if possible, of
nerves, is of even more Importance in the pro-
duction Of rapid Inconsistencies than the clos
ing of the windpipe, The most suitable posi-
what is called the hyoid bone, the latter being
very movable osseons arch at the base of
the tongue; which, says the medical lexicog-
rapher, separated entirely from the rest
of the skeleton, is composed of five dis
en- each other The rope should be thin
silk robe would be the best The ring should
be placed under the lower jaw, and the drop
should be long enough tofully compress tho
windpipe blood-veesels and nerves. half
feet, according to the weight of the prisoner,
would probably be sufficient Deaths from
excess OF blood in the brain cerebral hyper
mia) and its combination with asphyxis are
and result from incomplete construction, tho
w~indpipe not being quite closed. The return
of the blood contained in the veins is obstruet-
ed, but not the arterial supply. Hence suffo-
cation is q rather slow means Of fully destroy
ing life. Death from syncope or swoon may
quently connected witt the long drop. It is
about the most rapid and least painful moth
cd, though perhaps the rar,st. In . 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 ~resultin these
cases. Death may be caused by dislocation or
fracture Of the upper bones Of the spine, with
consequent laceration of the spinal cord. It ia
frequently thought that the injury arises from
the rupture of a ligament of the atlas, the first
bone upon which the head rests. Such cases
must be extremely rare, and the facts lead to
different conclusion. The Doctor, who seems
decided in his opinion that dislocation by means
of the long drop is the most scientific method
OF hanging, gives q umb of instances of the
results of this method.
"1n every case the vertebrm were separated
ut the point of injury for at least an inch, the
spinal cord was severed, and the vertebral ar
teries and all the ligaments were torn across"
The shock to the nervous system produces an
immediate loss of consciousness, with complete
paralysis of all voluntary muscles.
The wholotime during which the shock could
be felt is one-twentieth of q second. Even
taken up by the impression in travelling to the
nervous centers and back. Although loss Of
consciousness is instantaneous, 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 culprlt and the rope. The
force of the fall is equivalent to half the mass
multiplied by the square of the terminal veloc-
ity;; Aman weighing 140 pounds wouldlequire
q drop Of nine feet and one weighing 40 pound.
rope should not be 200 thick nor too elias
tic. otherwise the abrupt shock will be
broken and and the advantages of the
long drop lost; but it should not be too
tnll or 700 melastlc, or 1t may break, or the head
OF the criminal be snapped off. The knot
!; should be placed under the angle Of the lower
jaw on eithor side and directed forward; it will
then be drawn under the chin in the act Of
tightening. TIL moose should be placed a.
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 death from hanging appears to
take place very rapidly and without causing
any suffering to the person" Professor Tidy
also speaks of the painless nature of the death.
Professor Haughton, however, says that ssths
old system of taking a c~onvics's life by sofoca.
ton is inhumanly painful, unnecessarily pro.
longed, and revolving to those present" DR..
Barr says: mo doubt the pain in hane ing can
under no ciroumstance be very acute.n