Today's How-To: Hang a Criminal

As you know, Saddam Hussein went to the gallows today. I watched the video of the noose being put it (it looks huge) and was surprised to see that the hanging seemed to be taking place inside. I'd thought hangings were typically an outdoors affair -- like the mass hanging of the Lincoln conspirators -- but maybe this was a special case.

According to one extremely detailed website, hanging remains the second most popular form of execution in the world even today (after shooting), and many hang-ees have to die by strangulation because their countries don't follow "drop tables" that allow for a quick broken neck.

The ever helpful Slate reruns an article about the art of hanging.

Some interesting tidbits:

The last major innovation in hanging occurred toward the end of the19th century, when executioners first developed a systematic way tocalculate the drop. Once these "drop tables" were published, a hangmanknew that he'd need 7 feet for a slight, 120-pound criminal, but onlyabout 4 feet for a 200-pounder....

Hanging works a bit differently in other countries. In Japan, the gallows come equipped with three trapdoor switches, only one of which is actually connected. Three guards participate in the execution, but no one knows which one is actually responsible. In Iran, hangings are conducted by hoisting criminals slowly from the ground with a mobile crane connected to a nylon noose. Iranian hangings can take half an hour to complete.

30 minutes of agony? Now that's an execution.

How to hang Saddam Hussein [Slate]