My policeman friend hates this sort of thing. Not because of what he sees but because it's the worst thing to have to tell the family.
You tend to get accustomed to seeing the type of thing most people will never see, and I agree that dealing with the families is by far the harder part.
I spent a couple of years working as a Coroners Officer, and that side of the job was the one that you had to be able to cope with to do that role.
I always think the French had the right idea, lets face it – there’s no fcking about with Madame Guillotine! I never knew why they had a woman there knitting though
There is a guillotine execution on video I think it is from 1939 - no women knitting though - Very very fast indeed I first saw it years ago on C4 Execution series.
Quick and easy? Maybe when you hit the bottom (if you are lucky enough to be killed outright)
Unless one is unfortunate enough to end up breaking their own fall against a curvature (Seven Sisters seems to have those, whereas Beachy Head is a sheer drop), 535ft of pure blunt force trauma would surely be enough to kill instantly? Like a light switch being turned off.
but you still have those seconds it takes you to drop in which to change your mind
6 seconds at the most, and by then it'd probably be best to just close the eyes and have a smile - for there's no going back from a drop like that. I've heard that hanging, on the other hand, has left people struggling and suffering for many minutes or even hours. Worst time to change one's mind! :eek:
I don't get why people would. Seems like a nasty way to go. But then i'd rather just not commit suicide in the first place.
I suppose asphixiation is supposed to be kind of nice, and it's not as bloody as chucking yourself off a cliff, where it's fairly plausible that you could be concious and in extreme pain in your last moments.
How they find out? I guess it's fairly self explanatory. You get a noose, put it around your neck, and hang until dead. If it doesn't work, try it another way.
Not a drop in the accepted sense. This case was in a wardrobe, and I have seen similar spaces used.
Sorry - when you said you'd "been to a few hangings" - I thought you meant that you'd attended judicial executions.
I assumed that this probably meant that you'd done so abroad - where some jurisdictions don't use a long drop method but go more for the slow strangulation method.
Can you say that you've been to a few hangings if you weren't actually there when they took place?
Sorry - when you said you'd "been to a few hangings" - I thought you meant that you'd attended judicial executions.
I assumed that this probably meant that you'd done so abroad - where some jurisdictions don't use a long drop method but go more for the slow strangulation method.
Can you say that you've been to a few hangings if you weren't actually there when they took place?
You can say it, because I did:D
It is common terminology to say you've been to a hanging, when you are talking about the scene.
I've never thought about whether that is correct or not before.
It is common terminology to say you've been to a hanging, when you are talking about the scene.
I've never thought about whether that is correct or not before.
But you'll appreciate how misleading that can be - as is evidenced by a few of us on this thread all thinking along similar lines.
I'd have thought that it was important to be more accurate about that sort of thing if you're in the police force - if you don't want to be called as an eye-witness!!!
it's not as bloody as chucking yourself off a cliff, where it's fairly plausible that you could be concious and in extreme pain in your last moments.
Are there any documented studies on the mechanics behind a fall from a height? As in, whether someone will actually feel pain and know what's going on after hitting the ground (i.e. Trevalyan in GoldenEye, after he falls 500ft from the antenna and still manages to grin, whilst coughing up blood), or if the brain simply switches off within milliseconds of impact and the blackness sets in.
Besides the occasional freak story about people surviving falls from planes and whatnot, I've yet to come across anything that sheds light on those who were deemed to have "died instantly" from a cliff or building jump.
But you'll appreciate how misleading that can be - as is evidenced by a few of us on this thread all thinking along similar lines.
I'd have thought that it was important to be more accurate about that sort of thing if you're in the police force - if you don't want to be called as an eye-witness!!!
There is a big difference in brief posts here, and in general speak to writing a formal statement, where an accurate, detailed account is given, leaving no room for confusion.:)
There is a big difference in brief posts here, and in general speak to writing a formal statement, where an accurate, detailed account is given, leaving no room for confusion.:)
But you must admit - you had a few of us wondering what you meant!!;):D
Most suicides tie something round their neck and get themselves into a 'no going back' type situation, where they hang and suffocate but can't get out. It's a fairly slow and quite unpleasant death.
actually i don't think that is always true. you can pass out very quickly by closing off the airway and carotid arteries, a few seconds or so.
in the olden days, when short drop hanging was commonplace, some people "died hard" ie with a struggle, and some just reportedly went out pretty much straight away.
i think there used to be a terminology for hanging called " turning off" from when stools or ladders were used for the victim to climb up, and then were turned from under them.
there is a video on liveleak of two Iranians being publicly hanged in this method (they assassinated a local politician i believe) and they go limp virtually as soon as the stools are removed. no struggling at all.
there is another of some drug traffickers in Iran being hanged by mobile cranes which merely hoist them into the air. only the female prisoner of the group is seen to struggle for a minute or so, the others are limp straight away.
it is why it is so dangerous to play the old "hang yourself as you orgasm" game alone, a la David Carradine / Michael Hutchence (allegedly) because if there is nobody to get you down as you pass out, often pretty rapidly, you will asphyxiate as you are unconscious.
we were practising chokeholds and strangles at Karate a few years ago, and a fellow blackbelt got me in a really tight chokehold where his forearms were pressed tight in at the sides of my neck. i blacked out before i could tap out for him to release. only for 5 - 10 seconds or so, but it was a hairy moment all round
Comments
You tend to get accustomed to seeing the type of thing most people will never see, and I agree that dealing with the families is by far the harder part.
I spent a couple of years working as a Coroners Officer, and that side of the job was the one that you had to be able to cope with to do that role.
I feel like it some days:D
Just to clarify. I was talking about the scenes of suicidal hangings, not executions!!
There is a guillotine execution on video I think it is from 1939 - no women knitting though - Very very fast indeed I first saw it years ago on C4 Execution series.
Unless one is unfortunate enough to end up breaking their own fall against a curvature (Seven Sisters seems to have those, whereas Beachy Head is a sheer drop), 535ft of pure blunt force trauma would surely be enough to kill instantly? Like a light switch being turned off.
6 seconds at the most, and by then it'd probably be best to just close the eyes and have a smile - for there's no going back from a drop like that. I've heard that hanging, on the other hand, has left people struggling and suffering for many minutes or even hours. Worst time to change one's mind! :eek:
For a moment I thought you'd been to Iran or somewhere!
I suppose asphixiation is supposed to be kind of nice, and it's not as bloody as chucking yourself off a cliff, where it's fairly plausible that you could be concious and in extreme pain in your last moments.
How they find out? I guess it's fairly self explanatory. You get a noose, put it around your neck, and hang until dead. If it doesn't work, try it another way.
Sorry - when you said you'd "been to a few hangings" - I thought you meant that you'd attended judicial executions.
I assumed that this probably meant that you'd done so abroad - where some jurisdictions don't use a long drop method but go more for the slow strangulation method.
Can you say that you've been to a few hangings if you weren't actually there when they took place?
Indeed it was.
You can say it, because I did:D
It is common terminology to say you've been to a hanging, when you are talking about the scene.
I've never thought about whether that is correct or not before.
*resists urge to comment on other threads*
But you'll appreciate how misleading that can be - as is evidenced by a few of us on this thread all thinking along similar lines.
I'd have thought that it was important to be more accurate about that sort of thing if you're in the police force - if you don't want to be called as an eye-witness!!!
Are there any documented studies on the mechanics behind a fall from a height? As in, whether someone will actually feel pain and know what's going on after hitting the ground (i.e. Trevalyan in GoldenEye, after he falls 500ft from the antenna and still manages to grin, whilst coughing up blood), or if the brain simply switches off within milliseconds of impact and the blackness sets in.
Besides the occasional freak story about people surviving falls from planes and whatnot, I've yet to come across anything that sheds light on those who were deemed to have "died instantly" from a cliff or building jump.
There is a big difference in brief posts here, and in general speak to writing a formal statement, where an accurate, detailed account is given, leaving no room for confusion.:)
But you must admit - you had a few of us wondering what you meant!!;):D
Now now, don't go giving folks on here any ideas. After reading a particular thread it appears some embrace the idea.
Okay. I suppose it sounded much more interesting too!!:D
actually i don't think that is always true. you can pass out very quickly by closing off the airway and carotid arteries, a few seconds or so.
in the olden days, when short drop hanging was commonplace, some people "died hard" ie with a struggle, and some just reportedly went out pretty much straight away.
i think there used to be a terminology for hanging called " turning off" from when stools or ladders were used for the victim to climb up, and then were turned from under them.
there is a video on liveleak of two Iranians being publicly hanged in this method (they assassinated a local politician i believe) and they go limp virtually as soon as the stools are removed. no struggling at all.
there is another of some drug traffickers in Iran being hanged by mobile cranes which merely hoist them into the air. only the female prisoner of the group is seen to struggle for a minute or so, the others are limp straight away.
it is why it is so dangerous to play the old "hang yourself as you orgasm" game alone, a la David Carradine / Michael Hutchence (allegedly) because if there is nobody to get you down as you pass out, often pretty rapidly, you will asphyxiate as you are unconscious.
we were practising chokeholds and strangles at Karate a few years ago, and a fellow blackbelt got me in a really tight chokehold where his forearms were pressed tight in at the sides of my neck. i blacked out before i could tap out for him to release. only for 5 - 10 seconds or so, but it was a hairy moment all round
You are right. It can be very quick indeed.
He's a fashion designer, I'm guessing his wardrobe is at least 8ft tall.
Quicker than a cliff jump?
Different usage. You banged a drum, you didn't bung a drum.
I believe both "hanged" and "hung" are interchangeable these days in this sense. Can't find a source for it, but I read it somewhere.
It can be if the right nerve is hit in the right way.
It is a gamble that will happen though, and would not be my method of choice if I ever became that desperate.
Meat is hung, men are hanged
Hey some of us men are hung