Decapitation (from Latin Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. With the Roman conquest, Latin was spread to countries around the Mediterranean, including a large part of Europe. Romance languages, such as Catalan, French, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, and Spanish, are descended from Latin, while many others, especially European, caput, capita, meaning head) is the separation of the head In anatomy, the head of an animal is the rostral part that usually comprises the brain, eyes, ears, nose, and mouth (all of which aid in various sensory functions, such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste). Some very simple animals may not have a head, but many bilaterally symmetric forms do of an animal from its body. Beheading typically refers to the act of intentional decapitation, e.g., as a means of murder Murder, as defined in common law countries, is the unlawful killing of another human being with intent , and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide (such as manslaughter). As the loss of a human being inflicts enormous grief upon the individuals close to the victim, as well as the fact that the or execution Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is the execution of a person by judicial process as a punishment for an offense. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from Latin capitalis, literally "regarding the head" . Hence, a capital crime was originally one; it may be accomplished, for example, with an axe The axe, or ax, is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, harvest timber, as a weapon and a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has many forms and specialized uses but generally consists of an axe head with a handle, or helve, sword A sword is a long, edged piece of metal, used in many civilizations throughout the world, primarily as a cutting or thrusting weapon and occasionally for clubbing. The word sword comes from the Old English sweord, cognate to Old High German swert, Middle Dutch swaert, Old Norse sverð Old Frisian and Old Saxon swerd and Modern Dutch zwaard and, knife A knife is any cutting edge or blade, handheld or otherwise, with or without a handle. Knives were used at least two-and-a-half million years ago, as evidenced by the Oldowan tools. Originally made of rock, flint, and obsidian; knives have evolved in construction as technology has with blades being made from bronze, copper, iron, steel, ceramics,, wire A wire is a single, usually cylindrical, string of metal. Wires are used to bear mechanical loads and to carry electricity and telecommunications signals. Wire is commonly formed by drawing the metal through a hole in a die or draw plate. Standard sizes are determined by various wire gauges. The term wire is also used more loosely to refer to a, or by means of a guillotine The guillotine was a device used for carrying out executions by decapitation. It consists of a tall upright frame from which a blade is suspended. This blade is raised with a rope and then allowed to drop, severing the head from the body. The device is noted for long being the main method of execution in France and, more particularly, for its use. An executioner A judicial executioner is a person who carries out a death sentence ordered by the state or other legal authority, which was known in feudal terminology as high justice carrying out decapitations is called a headsman.

Accidental decapitation can be the result of an explosion An explosion is a rapid increase in volume and release of energy in an extreme manner, usually with the generation of high temperatures and the release of gases. An explosion creates a shock wave. If the shock wave is a supersonic detonation, then the source of the blast is called a "high explosive". Subsonic shock waves are created by, automobile or industrial accident,[1] improperly-administered execution by hanging Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", although it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain "hanging" or other violent injury. Suicide Suicide is the intentional killing of one's self. The most common cause is an underlying psychiatric disorders which include depression, schizophrenia, alcoholism and drug abuse. Financial difficulties or other undesirable situations play a significant role in the developing world by decapitation is rare, but not unknown.[2]

The word decapitation can also refer, on occasion, to the removal of the head from a body With regard to living things, a body is the physical body of an individual. "Body" often is used in connection with appearance, health issues and death. The study of the workings of the body is physiology that is already dead. This might be done to take the head as a trophy Headhunting is the traditional practice of taking a person's head after killing him or her. Headhunting was practiced in historic times in parts of China, India, Nigeria, Nuristan, Myanmar, Borneo, Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Japan, Micronesia, Melanesia, New Zealand, and the Amazon Basin, as well as among certain tribes of the Celts and, for public display A gibbet is a gallows-type structure from which the dead bodies of executed criminals were hung on public display to deter other existing or potential criminals. To gibbet a criminal is to display the criminal on a gibbet. This practice is also called "hanging in chains", to make the deceased more difficult to identify, for cryonics Cryonics is the low-temperature preservation of humans and animals that can no longer be sustained by contemporary medicine until resuscitation may be possible in the future. Currently, human cryopreservation is not reversible, which means that it is not currently possible to bring people out of cryopreservation alive. The rationale for cryonics or for other reasons.

In an analogous fashion, decapitation can also refer to the removal of a head of an organization. If, for example, the leader of a country were killed, that might be referred to as 'decapitation'. It is also used of a political strategy aimed at unseating high-profile members of a party, as used by the Liberal Democrats The Liberal Democrats, often shortened to Lib Dems, are a centrist political party in the United Kingdom, formed in 1988 by a merger of the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party. The two parties had formed the electoral SDP-Liberal Alliance for seven years before then. The party's leader is Nick Clegg in the United Kingdom general election, 2005 The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a reduced overall majority of 66 and they failed to gain any new seats. Blair's decline in popularity was largely attributed to the decision to send British troops to invade Iraq in 2003.[3]

Decapitation is immediately fatal, as brain death Brain death is a legal definition of death that refers to the irreversible end of all brain activity due to total necrosis of the cerebral neurons following loss of blood flow and oxygenation. Therefore, the brain is no longer capable of sustaining the rest of the body's systems without advanced life support. It should not be confused with a occurs within seconds to minutes without the support of the organism's body.

Contents

History

Beheading—facsimile A facsimile is a copy or reproduction of an old book, manuscript, map, art print or other item of historical value that is as true to the original source as possible using, normally, some form of photographic technique. It differs from other forms of reproduction by attempting to replicate the source as accurately as possible in terms of scale, of a miniature on wood in the Cosmographie Universelle of Munster: in folio, Basle, 1552. Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of King Henry VIII and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the start of the English Reformation. The daughter of Sir Thomas Boleyn and his wife, Lady in the Tower of London Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London , is a historic fortress and scheduled monument in central London, England, on the north bank of the River Thames. It is located within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and is separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space known as Tower waiting for her decapitation, by Edouard Cibot (1799 - 1877)

Honor

Decapitation has been used as a form of capital punishment Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is the execution of a person by judicial process as a punishment for an offense. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from Latin capitalis, literally "regarding the head" . Hence, a capital crime was originally one for millennia. The terms "capital offence", "capital crime", "capital punishment," derive from the Latin caput, "head", referring to the punishment for serious offenses involving the forfeiture of the head; i.e. death by beheading[4]. Decapitation by sword (or axe, a military weapon as well) was sometimes considered the "honorable" way to die for an aristocrat Aristocracy is a form of government, in which a few of the most prominent citizens rule. This may be a hereditary elite, or it may be by a system of cooption where a council of prominent citizens and leading soldiers, merchants, land owners, priests, and lawyers to their number. This form of government was used commonly in ancient Greece, as well, who, presumably being a warrior, could often expect to die by the sword in any event; in England it was considered a privilege of noblemen to be beheaded. This would be distinguished from a "dishonorable" death on the gallows Gallows may be permanent to act as a deterrent and grim symbol of the power of high justice . Many old prints of European cities show such a permanent gallows erected on a prominent hill outside the walls, or more commonly near the castle or other seat of justice. In the modern era the gallows were often installed inside a prison; freestanding on or through burning at the stake Death by burning is death (often execution) brought about by combustion. As a form of capital punishment, burning has a long history as a method in crimes such as treason, heresy and witchcraft. (Burning, however, was actually less common than hanging, pressing, or drowning as a punishment for witchcraft.)[citation needed] This method of execution. In medieval England England ( /ˈɪŋɡlənd/ ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental Europe. Most of England, high treason High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's country. Participating in a war against one's country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps the best-known examples of high treason. High treason requires by nobles was punished by beheading; male commoners, including knights A knight was a "gentleman soldier" or member of the warrior class of the Middle Ages in Europe. In other Indo-European languages, cognates of cavalier or rider are more prevalent suggesting a connection to the knight's mode of transport. Since antiquity a position of honour and prestige has been held by mounted warriors such as the Greek, were hung, drawn, and quartered; female commoners were burned at the stake. Paul of Tarsus Paul of Tarsus, also called Paul the Apostle, the Apostle Paul, or Saint Paul, (Ancient Greek: Σαούλ , Σαῦλος (Saulos), and Παῦλος (Paulos); Latin: Paulus or Paullus; Hebrew: שאול התרסי‎ Šaʾul HaTarsi (Saul of Tarsus) (c.5 BC - c.67 AD), was a Hellenistic Jew who called himself the "Apostle to the Gentiles" was beheaded as a Roman citizen Citizenship in ancient Rome was a privileged social status afforded to certain individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance, not crucified like other Christians who were Roman slaves or Jews.

In countries where beheading was the usual means of capital punishment, such as in Scandinavia, the noblemen would be beheaded with a sword, symbolizing their class as a military caste, thus dying by an instrument of war, while the commoners would be beheaded with an axe.[citation needed]

Painlessness

If the headsman A judicial executioner is a person who carries out a death sentence ordered by the state or other legal authority, which was known in feudal terminology as high justice's axe The axe, or ax, is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, harvest timber, as a weapon and a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has many forms and specialized uses but generally consists of an axe head with a handle, or helve or sword An executioner's sword is a sword designed specifically for decapitation of condemned criminals . These swords were intended for two-handed use, but were lacking a point, so that their overall length was typically that of a single-handed sword (ca. 80-90 cm). The quillions were quite short, and mainly straight, the pommel was often pear-shaped or was sharp and his aim was true, decapitation was quick and was presumed to be a relatively painless form of death. If the instrument was blunt or the executioner clumsy, however, multiple strokes might be required to sever the head. The person to be executed was therefore advised to give a gold coin to the headsman so that he did his job with care. Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex , is the best-known of the many holders of the title "Earl of Essex." He was a military hero and royal favourite of Elizabeth I, but following a poor campaign against Irish rebels during the Nine Years' War in 1599, he failed in a coup d'état against the queen and was executed for treason and Mary, Queen of Scots Mary I (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587) was Queen of Scots from 14 December 1542 to 24 July 1567. She was the only surviving legitimate child of King James V. She was six days old when her father died and made her Queen of Scots. Her mother, Mary of Guise, assumed regency and her daughter was crowned nine months later required three strikes at their respective executions. Margaret Pole, 8th Countess of Salisbury Margaret Pole , 8th Countess of Salisbury (14 August 1473 – 27 May 1541) was an English peeress, the daughter of the 1st Duke of Clarence, a brother of King Edward IV and King Richard III. She was the last legitimate member of the Plantagenet dynasty, executed in 1541 at the command of King Henry VIII, who was her cousin's son. She is a Catholic required ten strokes before the fatal blow.[citation needed]

The Beheading of Cosmas and Damian, by Fra Angelico Fra Angelico , born Guido di Pietro, was an Early Italian Renaissance painter, referred to in Vasari's Lives of the Artists as having "a rare and perfect talent"

To ensure that the blow would be fatal, executioners' swords usually were blade-heavy two-handed swords. Likewise, if an axe was used, it almost invariably would be wielded with both hands. In England a special form of axe was used for beheadings, with the blade's edge extending downwards from the tip of the shaft.[citation needed]

Finland Finland (pronounced /ˈfɪnlənd/ ), officially the Republic of Finland Finnish: Suomi; Swedish: Finland (help·info), is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden on the west, Norway on the north and Russia on the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland. The capital's official beheading axe resides today at the Museum of Crime in Helsinki Helsinki ( listen ; Swedish: Helsingfors, listen (help·info)) is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the southern part of Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, by the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is 579,016 (30 June 2009), making it the most populous municipality in Finland by a wide margin. Population. It is a broad-bladed two-handed axe. It was last used when murderer Toivo Koljonen was executed in 1826. All subsequent Finnish executions were made by firing squad Execution by firing squad is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in times of war. The firing squad is generally composed of several soldiers or peace officers. The method of execution requires all members of the group to fire simultaneously, thus preventing both disruption of the process by a single member and identification of the. Capital punishment is no longer practiced in Finland.

Guillotine

Decapitation by guillotine The guillotine was a device used for carrying out executions by decapitation. It consists of a tall upright frame from which a blade is suspended. This blade is raised with a rope and then allowed to drop, severing the head from the body. The device is noted for long being the main method of execution in France and, more particularly, for its use was a common, mechanically-assisted form of execution Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is the execution of a person by judicial process as a punishment for an offense. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from Latin capitalis, literally "regarding the head" . Hence, a capital crime was originally one, invented shortly before the French Revolution The French Revolution was a period of political and social upheaval and radical change in the history of France, during which the French governmental structure, previously an absolute monarchy with feudal privileges for the aristocracy and Catholic clergy, underwent radical change to forms based on Enlightenment principles of citizenship and (although an earlier version of the guillotine, the Halifax Gibbet, was used in Halifax Halifax was a Market town until 22 November 2009, when it became a Minster town, in the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale in West Yorkshire, England, with an urban area population of 82,056 in the 2001 Census. It is well-known as a centre of England's woollen manufacture from the 15th century onward, originally dealing through the Halifax Piece, England from 1286 until the 17th century). The aim was to create a painless and quick form of execution that did not require great skill to carry out. The executioner, after chopping off the head, would hold it up to the crowd. It was believed (with dubious evidence) that the head could still see for around ten seconds. The account of Dr. Beaurieux who observed the decapitation of a convict named Languille in 1905, may imply that the head could still see as he recounts "Next Languille's eyes very definitely fixed themselves on mine and the pupils focussed themselves" (A history of the guillotine, Alister Kershaw). The French had a strict code of etiquette surrounding the executions; a man named Legros, one of the assistants at the execution of Charlotte Corday Marie-Anne Charlotte de Corday d'Armont , known to history as Charlotte Corday, was a figure of the French Revolution. In 1793, she was executed under the guillotine for the assassination of Jacobin leader Jean-Paul Marat, who was partly responsible for the Reign of Terror. His murder was memorialized in a celebrated painting by Jacques-Louis, was imprisoned for three months and dismissed for slapping the face of the victim after the blade had fallen in order to see whether any flicker of life remained[citation needed]. The guillotine was used in France France (pronounced /ˈfræns/ or /ˈfrɑːns/; French pronunciation (help·info): [fʁɑ̃s]), officially the French Republic (French: République française, pronounced: [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is a member state of the European Union located in its western region, with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents. France during the French Revolution and remained the normal judicial method in both peacetime and wartime into the 1970s, although the firing squad Execution by firing squad is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in times of war. The firing squad is generally composed of several soldiers or peace officers. The method of execution requires all members of the group to fire simultaneously, thus preventing both disruption of the process by a single member and identification of the was used in certain cases. France abolished the death penalty in 1981. The guillotine was also used in Algeria Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country located in North Africa. It is the largest country on the Mediterranean Sea, the second largest on the African continent and the Arab world after Sudan, as well as the eleventh-largest country in the world in terms of land area before the French relinquished control of it, as shown in Gillo Pontecorvo's film The Battle of Algiers. Another guillotine existed in Vatican City until recent years. It had been brought in by Napoleon's forces during the early 19th century; and, in 1870, the Pope still claimed the authority to use it. In recent times however, the Vatican has abolished capital punishment in its own jurisdiction, and recent Popes have condemned capital punishment where it is still practiced.

Aristocratic heads on pikes - a cartoon from the French Revolution

German Fallbeil

Many German states had used a guillotine-like device known as a Fallbeil since the 17th and 18th centuries, and decapitation by guillotine was the usual means of execution in Germany until the abolition of the death penalty in West Germany in 1949. In Nazi Germany, the guillotine was reserved for criminal convicts and political crimes including treason. A famous example of the guillotine being used was on the members of the White Rose resistance movement, a group of students in Munich led by Sophie Scholl and her brother Hans. Contrary to popular myth, executions were generally not conducted face-up, and chief executioner Johann Reichhart was peculiarly insistent on maintaining "professional" protocol throughout the era, having administered the death penalty during the earlier Weimar era. Nonetheless, the Nazis' use of the Fallbeil was chillingly routine. It is estimated that some 16,500 persons were guillotined in Germany and Austria between 1933 and 1945. This number includes resistance fighters both in Nazi Germany itself and in those countries that were occupied by them. As these resistance fighters were not part of any regular army they were considered common criminals and were in many cases taken to Germany and decapitated. Decapitation was considered a "dishonorable" death, unlike an "honorable" death, e.g., execution by firing squad.

A fresco by Ambrogio Lorenzetti

Nordic countries

In Nordic Countries, decapitation was the usual means of carrying out capital punishment. Noblemen were beheaded with a sword, and commoners with an axe. The last executions by decapitation in Finland in 1825, Norway in 1876 and in Iceland in 1830 were carried out with axes. The same was the case in Denmark in 1892. The last decapitation in Sweden was carried out in 1910 with a guillotine. The last execution in Sweden carried out with an axe was in 1900.

Historical practices by nation

Asia

China

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be and removed. (December 2008)
Ranked beheaded bodies on the ground, in a lane of Caishikou crossroad, China, 1905

In traditional China decapitation was considered a more severe form of punishment than strangulation although strangulation caused more prolonged suffering. This was because in Confucian tradition bodies were gifts from their parents, and so it was therefore disrespectful to their ancestors to return their bodies to the grave dismembered. The Chinese however had other punishments, such as the lingering death, that involved dismembering the body into multiple pieces (similar to English quartering). In addition, there was also a practice of cutting the body at the waist, which was a common way of execution before being abolished in early Qing dynasty.

Pakistan

Pakistan's government employs death by hanging for capital punishment. Since 2007, militants from Tehrek-e-Taliban Pakistan have used beheadings as a form of punishment for opponents, criminals and spies in the north west region of Pakistan. Severed heads of opponents or government officials in Swat were left on popular street corners in order to terrorize local population. The beheadings have stopped in Swat since the military incursion and sweep-up that began in May 2009 and ended in June 2009.

A video obtained by the Associated Press on April 20, 2007 shows a young boy, appearing to be around 12 years of age, beheading a man identified as Ghulam Nabi, a Pakistani militant accused of betraying the Taliban. According to the AP report, "A continuous 2 1/2-minute shot then shows the victim lying on his side on a patch of rubble-strewn ground. A man holds Nabi by his beard while the boy, wearing a camouflage military jacket and oversized white sneakers, cuts into the throat. Other men and boys call out "Allahu akbar!" — "God is great!" — during the beheading. The film, overlain with nasheeds, then shows the boy hacking and slashing at the man's neck until the head is severed."[5]

Japan

Condemned Chinese about to be beheaded by Japanese soldiers, 1901

In Japan, decapitation was a common punishment, sometimes for minor offenses. Samurai were often allowed to decapitate soldiers who had fled from battle, as it was considered cowardly. Decapitation was historically performed as the second step in seppuku (ritual suicide by disembowelment). After the victim had sliced his own abdomen open, another warrior would strike his head off from behind with a katana to hasten death and to reduce the suffering. The blow was expected to be precise enough to leave intact a small strip of skin at the front of the neck - to spare invited and honored guests the indelicacy of witnessing a severed head rolling about, or towards them; such an event would have been considered inelegant and in bad taste. The sword was expected to be used upon the slightest sign that the practitioner might yield to pain and cry out - avoiding dishonor to him, and to all partaking in the privilege of observing an honorable demise. As skill was involved, only the most trusted warrior was honored enough to take part. In the late Sengoku period, decapitation was performed as soon as the person chosen to carry out seppuku had made the slightest wound to his abdomen.[citation needed] Decapitation (without seppuku) was also considered the severest and most degrading form of punishment. One of the most brutal decapitations was that of a daimyo, Ishida Mitsunari, who had warred against Ieyasu Tokugawa. After he lost the Battle of Sekigahara, he was buried in the ground and his head was sawn off with a blunt bamboo saw. These unusual punishments were abolished in the early Meiji era. However, the Japanese used decapitation extensively during World War II, especially against Chinese Nationals. A particularly brutal case is that of the Nanking Massacre, in which thousands of Chinese were killed through decapitation. The Japanese viewed the Chinese, Koreans, and other East Asian peoples as inferior to Japan and not worthy of humane treatment.[citation needed] After World War II, Japan stopped using decapitation as a punishment against both Japanese citizens and foreign citizens.[citation needed]

An Australian POW captured in New Guinea, Sgt. Leonard Siffleet, about to be beheaded with a shin gunto sword.

Thailand

In Southern Thailand, there were at least 15 cases where Buddhists have been beheaded in 2005. Thai officials suspect the attackers are part of the South Thailand Muslim insurgency who are seeking to separate the south end part from the rest of Thailand.[6][7]

Chechnya

Chechen Muslim rebels were known to practice beheading against the captured Russian Army soldiers during the First Chechen War and the Second Chechen War. Four Western telecommunication workers (three Britons and a New Zealander) who were taken hostage for ransom in Chechnya in 1998, were eventually beheaded and their heads were found on a side of a road[8]. In 1999, a beheading video was widely circulated on the internet, depicting a Russian soldier being beheaded by Chechen rebels.

Europe

Bosnia and Herzegovina

During the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992-1995) there were a number of ritual beheadings of Serbs who were taken as prisoners of war by mujahedin members of the Bosnian Army. At least one case is documented and proven in court by the ICTY where mujahedin, members of 3rd Corps of Army BiH, beheaded Bosnian Serb Dragan Popović.[9][10]

Image of Pier Gerlofs Donia, known for his ability to behead multiple people in a single blow.

Frisia

During the Frisian Peasant Rebellion between 1515 and 1523, the Burgundian and Habsburgian enemies were usually beheaded when captured to prevent them from returning to fight again. The rebel leader, Pier Gerlofs Donia performed many of the decapitations. He was known for his amazing skill and for the ability to behead multiple people in a single blow using a Zweihänder with the amazing length of 213 cm (~7 ft). For his extreme brutality he was nicknamed "Cross of the Dutchmen".[11]

Germany

Spain

In Spain executions were carried out by various methods including strangulation by the garrotte. In the 16th. and 17th. century noblemen were sometimes executed by means of beheading. They were tied to a chair on a scaffold. The executioner used a knife to cut the head from the body. It was considered to be a more honourable death if the executioner started with cutting the throat[14].

North America

Mexico

Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, Ignacio Allende, José Mariano Jiménez and Juan Aldama were tried for treason, executed by firing squad and beheaded during the Mexican independence in 1811. Their heads were on display on the four corners of the Alhóndiga de Granaditas, in Guanajuato.

Recently during the Mexican Drug War some Mexican drug cartels have turned to decapitation of rival cartel members as a method of intimidation.[15]

Middle East

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabian authorities beheaded four men in February 2007— Sangeeth Kumara, Victor Corea, Ranjith Silva and Sanath Pushpakumara. These four Sri Lankan workers were convicted in a Saudi Arabian court for an armed robbery committed in October 2004. Their deaths sparked reactions from the international human rights watchdog Amnesty International, which called on the Saudi authorities to abolish the death sentence. The court also ruled that the bodies of the four workers be crucified for public view as an example for others. In most of the cases the respective embassy gets notification only after the execution thereby eliminating chances for international or diplomatic uproar.[16]

Iraq

Beheadings have emerged as another tactic especially in Iraq since April 2003.[citation needed] Foreign civilians have borne the brunt of the beheadings, although U.S. and Iraqi military personnel have also been targeted. After kidnapping the victim, the kidnappers typically make some sort of demand of the government of the hostage's nation and give a time limit for the demand to be carried out, often 72 hours. Beheading is often threatened if the government fails to heed the wishes of the hostage takers. Frequently the crude beheadings are videotaped and made available on the Internet. One of the most publicized of such executions was that of Nick Berg.

Judicial execution is practiced in Iraq, but is generally carried out by hanging.

Africa

Somalia

On March 13 2008, it was reported that Hizbul Shabaab militants fighting the presence of an interim government backed by thousands of Ethiopian combat troops in Somalia beheaded three government soldiers. It was the first case of beheadings since the government and its Ethiopian military allies ousted the Islamists from power in late 2006, sparking a bloody insurgency characterised by roadside bombs and hit-and-run attacks.[17]

Notable people who have been beheaded

Main article: List of people who have been beheaded

See also

References

  1. ^ see Isadora Duncan
  2. ^ "Guillotine death was suicide". BBC News. 2003-04-24. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/2974083.stm. Retrieved 2008-09-26.
  3. ^ Carlin, Brendan; David Sapsted (2005-05-04). "Defiant Kennedy takes 'decapitation' strategy into Tory heartland". The Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1489270/Defiant-Kennedy-takes-'decapitation'-strategy-into-Tory-heartland.html. Retrieved 2008-06-21.
  4. ^ Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, edited by Noah Porter, published by G & C. Merriam Co., 1913
  5. ^ The Star Online Video in Pakistan shows youngster beheading man for alleged betrayal of Taliban leader Dated: Saturday, April 21, 2007.
  6. ^ "Buddhist decapitated in Thailand". Herald Sun. 2005-07-26. http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,16055672-1702,00.html. Retrieved 2008-02-15.
  7. ^ "Man beheaded, two shot dead the man was later found in a shallow grave.". News Limited. 2005-10-14. http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,16917051-23109,00.html. Retrieved 2008-02-15.
  8. ^ "Four Western hostages beheaded in Chechnya". CNN. 1998-12-08. http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/europe/9812/08/chechnya.01/. Retrieved 2008-02-15.
  9. ^ UN - TRIBUNAL CONVICTS ENVER HADZIHASANOVIC AND AMIR KUBURA Press Release, March 2006
  10. ^ UN - THIRD AMENDED INDICTMENT - THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL FOR THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA
  11. ^ "Greate Pier fan Wûnseradiel" (in West Frisian). Gemeente Wûnseradiel. http://www.wunseradiel.nl/index.php?simaction=content&pagid=289&mediumid=1. Retrieved 2008-01-04.
  12. ^ asfpg ~ Altonaer Stiftung für philosophische Grundlagenforschung
  13. ^ Das Beil Von Wandsbek - Trailer - Cast - Showtimes - The New York Times
  14. ^ Execution of the Marquess of Ayamonte on the 11th. of december 1645 Described in "Varios relatos diversos de Cartas de Jesuitas" (1634-1648) Coll. Austral Buones Aires 1953 en Dr. J. Geers "Van het Barokke leven", Baarn 1957 Bl. 183 - 188.
  15. ^ George W. Grayson (February 2009). "La Familia: Another Deadly Mexican Syndicate". Foreign Policy Research Institute. Archived from the original on 2009-09-15. http://www.webcitation.org/5joR97DuX.
  16. ^ BBC
  17. ^ Garowe Online - Home

This article incorporates content from the 1728 Cyclopaedia, a publication in the public domain.

External links

Categories: Execution methods

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