Public Hangings
Capital punishment seemed to have been regenerated from the beginning of mankind, where beheading was considered an honorable method of meeting death, whereas hanging carried with it a definite stigma. The era of public hanging was emotionally satisfying even though the surroundings was emotionally tense. In contrast to private hangings where they were fewer observers, less theatrical from the accuse and hanging was becoming more of an inhuman punishment to inflict on those found guilty of their crime. Both forms of hangings were though to be an effective way of preventing individuals from committing a crime. Capital punishment seemed morally acceptable, to the public and there were individuals who were willing to carry out the execution. From the books; "...Hang By the Neck...", Hanging in the Balance and The trail of the Dinosaur, gives descriptions of public and private hangings, the responsibilities of the hangman and the general reaction of the public, who were for and againts hangings. In the days of public hangings, gallows or scaffolds were rather crude contraptions. Early contraptions consisted of two post in the ground, with a cross-piece between them from which the victim swung. As the years passed by a s
In both the public and private era, hangings could not have been performed without the executioner, otherwise known as the "hangman". In the public era it was taken as a great opportunity to hang an accuse. Most of the hangman did not conceal their identity from the public, such as a form of mask. They were simply considered by the public as a savior in doing what they considered dirty work and which some would rather watch and rejoice the event. The public was being brained washed into thinking that a hanging was beneficial to their day to day life or else the wise laws would not have encouraged them people to witness it. The hangman had the power to either make the accuse die slowly or with speed. On more than one occasion the hangman came to the execution intoxicated and almost unable to perform the execution. But since their was no one who could be considered a back-up, it went along this way for several more years. They often got a hangman who had previously committed a crime or was serving time for a lesser crime in jail. Those individuals were commissioned to hang others, with an reprisals of their own lesser crimes. More than one of these hangman later committed crimes which led them to be hanged at the same place where they were once executioners. " Hanging day" were during the eighteenth and up to half of the nineteenth century, the equivalent of national bank holidays, only more frequent. No single event brought more spectators in those years than a public hanging. People would drive from miles around and some individual would camp in the vicinity for several days before the event. The individuals who made a great profit during this period were the vendors, pick-pockets, promoters, peddlers and medicine men, all would descend upon the town before the fatal day. Bringing along toy-like gallows, with a miniature person to hang at the same moment as the real individual was being executed. Other noticeable sight-seers were religious groups such as the evangelists, the accused family and friends. In most the towns in the USA the mayor issued proclamations of warnings, making
Some common words found in the essay are:
Holloway Haggarthy, Hanging Balance, , public hanging, capital punishment, public hangings, private hangings, private era, form capital, form capital punishment, 19th century, growing public, accuse hanging, public private,
Approximate Word count = 1420
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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