Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1889-01-18
DEATH PENALTIES.
MODES or CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
EMPLOYED IN oLDEN TIMES.

c"E AOIc0 IN OS0<N ttMCSs
stonins and Crucihxion Before CArsss.
Tied In . Sock with serpents-Bslled In
Hot Lead. OIL and wsier-Neshods q,
Decapitation.
The term "capisal punishment, meaning
fatal operation upon that most vital part Of
the human frame, the head, is now no mis-
homer, but the time YVES when the death
penalty was by no means directed at th.
head aloha Death by ssouing was, in al
probability, the earliest method Of furnishing
crimes, the Jews and other oriental nations
being especially given 70 this form Of So
preme penalty. From the extrsmsly CON-
prehensivs code Of capital oGenses which s2-
peared in the Mosaic code, il u 10 b con-
cluded that death by stontr2 was . very
common occurrence, and that the young
men of the congregation 10 whom was IN
trusted the duties Of execusioner, must have
become quite expert In their o@ca Il 10
quite possible, however, that parsonal retail
alton sntsdared punishusns BY the commu-
nifty, and that the eye for eye tooth fa
tooth and life for life doctrine was rigorousiy
carried out For the instantaneous dispatch
Of an offender the Jews used the sword, bus
stoning continued 20 be the set form Of cap
ital punishment up to the time Of the Chris
tan era Then crucifxion took its placs,
form Of death penalty borrowed from the
Latin couquerors.
According to tradition. however, the Az
syT-ians were the inventors Of this particle
larry unpleasant form of being kept in sus-
ov,l t~ -
has the doubtful honor Of being the frst 10
employ it The ordinary method Of infice-
ing it was by mailing the victim TO q cross
where he was left until dead Occasionally.
however, cheerful innovation was intro
duced by setting the cross on IRE before the
victims death, or by letting Wild beasts de-
YOUR him in his defenseless position Both
the torch and the jaws of the wild beasts
fangs were really uerciful reliefs, for cases
are on record in which the victim fingered
in agony for sighreen and twenty days
Death by cruciffxion was inflicted on women
as well as on men, and snch unspcAksbls
atrocities were practiced under tho guise Of
just punishment that the cross was abolished
by Constantine the Great about A. d. SIS
DIFFERENT ROMAN METHODS.
Though the Romans wcrc greatly given 10
crucifying it can scarcely be said that they
had any one national form Of capital punish
ment. They acted largely after the rnikAdos
plan Of letting the punishment &C The crime.
Christians were. burned. torn TO pieces by
beasts, drowned In quagnires and rivers and
vivisected- Political offenders, on the other
hand, were thrown from the Tarpstan rock
This was lofty and precipitous promontory
sd, IF fh,. anti n.,1.
slaves when recaptured were turned a6rtfs
into the deserts or woods ovefTun BY Wild
animals, or else bound 10 a rock and lefs 20
starve 1t was customary for q while In
Rome TO permit capital offenders 10 select
the manner by which they would meet death
and DO allowed TO indict the penalty upon
themselves This custom also obtained L.
Greece, and when Socrates was condemned
to death for spreading disbelief In the na
tional religion he chose to die by drtnkina
hemlock.
One Of the most cruel and unusual Of pun
ishments was that which the Romans IN tia
latter days of the republic metsd out q
those who murdered either Of their pa.
rents Luke Owen Pike, IL. A.. author Of
the History Of Crime in England" In refer
ring to this punishment, says:
Not in the anphitbeatre, not at the stake,
not on the cross was the parricids to perish
A sack was 70 be bis winding sheet; in THAI
he was TO be sewn up alive and venomous ser
penis with him. BE was to DO thrown into
the sea, If the sea was near az band, and 4
not, into river. 50 that the heavens might
be hidden from him while still alive, and u,
earth deny him q grave when dead"
Often, however, In addition 10 the vipers
there were dog, a monkey and rooster
sowed up in the sack with the victim, whs
was naked The sack was usually Of leather
The oriental nations have always been re-
for the ingenious cruelty Of their
death punishments, although it 10 doubtful
whether they have been more cruel than tbs
self styled highly civilized nations Of tbs
west. Death has como from slow strsug-uls
ton from a rope, as wns ia vogue In China,
for instance, and at tho same time from the
use Of boiling oil, which was poured on the
joints after they were dislocatzd by mecbsn-
zeal means, as In France and Germany. from
faying. or stripping the skin OF tbs body, a.
was formerly done in England, and from
pressure between planks, on tho upper d
which great weights were placed, "a was alss
In vogue in England at one time.
CRUELTY AIDED By INGENUITY.
Every method which human cruelty could
prompt and human ingenuity devize has
been resorted 10 at one time or other IL an
cient or nedlBval days, and among nations
protesting 20 Be civilized. 10 adzninLster cor.
ture and death It IL true that japanese Of
fenders have been exscuted by the slow pas.
sage Of aspear upward through their entralIs,
and that the Chimes criminals have been
gradually behcaded with q bamboo saw, but
40 the same time that Inoet barbarous form
Of INJECTING the death psnAlsy. toe boiling In
= caldron, was q European Invention.
Decapitataon ceased In Enziand In ITgs.
but il Is Still performed Ia France and sonns
Of tie German states. tn the firss country by
tho guiliosine and In ths second By tie sword,
tho instrument enployed In EnSiasd having
been tie broad AZ. Docapisa1son wssh ths
sword In also capital p0nlsaznsx< In China
Tbs two handed sword was In u.s In
France before tho guiliot1ne was Intro
iuced, while for great cr.ues the victim
was broken On tbs whsel - appears te
have come frst Into uss In Germany, where
% was employed - early a. us Tenth
Francis I, about is25, iutrodoo-d
Il Into France. Ii was sErploysd fos 9 tins
dsats by this method was bound T. 60 Ia
ssrurnsns rzdsl7 rsSaEabling q ~bse, IN icxz
md arras beng ssparstod - Tar O. poazkss
md attached b cro<stass corT@po<dinx %
spokek A the whss, rs~oivst ne ismh~ ofshs
victim were fractured By heavy bkvs frDzs
= heavy tron rcd delivered below tbs kr>ss
md slbosk Soustlnses the rod VIE bed Ia
position mechanically, tAs h<ubs II It's
prisoHer, a. ks wktzlod On TIE vfsei. eoruipx
IA con:Ac. with L. Usasily. hevev<-, tbs
rod wss hs.d In ths bands q an sxsrosioaer,