The Breaking Wheel
This form of execution was used in Europe throughout the Middle Ages and into the 19th century. The condemned was tied to a large wooden wheel, which was rotated slowly while the executioner struck down on his limbs with an iron bar or hammer, breaking the bones. This was usually done in public places, and the victim's broken body was left out on display. Often, the breaking of bones did not kill the victim, and he would die days later of shock or dehydration. In some instances, the authority handing down the death sentence would request that the executioner deliver a blow of mercy, or coup de grace so that the condemned would die faster and suffer less. In America, the breaking wheel was used in the 18th century to kill revolting slaves, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
Ling Chi
Ling Chi, or slow slicing, was used as a method of execution in China for a thousand years -- the first records of this practice date back to roughly 900 AD -- until it was outlawed in 1905. Also known as death by a thousand cuts, ling chi involved the slow, systematic cutting of non-vital body parts with a sharp blade, causing prolonged suffering. First, flesh was cut off the arms, legs and chest, then limbs were amputated, and finally a fatal cut was delivered either to the throat or heart. In some cases, the condemned was killed first, and the mutilation of the body occurred post-mortem, as a form of humiliation and punishment after death. According to Confucian principles, a victim of ling chi would not be "whole" in the afterlife.
Pictured is an illustration printed in an 1858 French newspaper, depicting the execution of a French missionary in China. A particularly gruesome photograph of the practice of slow slicing may be seen here. View at your own risk.
The Garotte
Used in Spain for hundreds of years, the garotte is an efficient means of execution by asphyxiation. In an earlier version, the victim was tied to a stake and a loop of rope was placed around his/her neck. A rod in the loop was turned until the rope tightened, choking the victim. In later versions, the stake was replaced with a chair in which the victim was bound, and the rope was replaced with a metal collar. Until 1940, Spain implemented a version of the garotte which included a metal spike which was driven into the spinal cord as the collar tightened.
Pictured is a 1901 execution of a prisoner at Bilibid Prison in Manila, Philippines. Garotting was outlawed in the Philippines in 1902.
Boiling
More rarely employed than other methods of execution, boiling was used throughout Europe and Asia until the 17th century. Depending on the level of suffering intended, the victim was either placed in boiling water or oil, or made to sit in a cauldron full of cold liquid until it reached the boiling point. Alternatively, the victim could be fried to death in a large shallow pan of hot oil.
In Europe, boiling was used throughout the Middle Ages to execute poisoners and forgers. More recently, the Uzbek government is reported to have boiled several people who opposed the political regime. Muzafar Avazov, 35, is believed to have been killed by immersion in boiling water in Uzbekistan in 2002. Photographs of his remains show severe burns covering up to 70% of his body, consistent with boiling.
Pictured is the execution of 16th century Japanese bandit Ishikawa Goemon, who was sentenced to be boiled to death along with his son after a failed attempt to assassinate the warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
Damnatio ad Bestias
Meaning "condemnation to beasts" in Latin, damnatio ad bestias was the practice of feeding a living person to hungry lions or other large carnivorous animals. In the Bible, the prophet Daniel was thrown into the lions' den by order of King Darius I, but miraculously survived. His accusers were then thrown to the lions in his stead, and were instantly killed. In ancient Rome, damnatio ad bestias was used to execute Christians, often in a large circus arena for public enjoyment. The application of this method of execution to Christians was meant to equate them with the worst of criminals other offenses that warranted death by beast in Rome included army deserters, sorcerers and ransom-seekers.
Pictured is The Christian Martyrs' Last Prayer, by the 19th century French painter Jean-Leon Gerome.
Sawing
Though less common than other methods, execution by sawing was used in Europe, ancient Rome, China and parts of the Middle East. As pictured in this drawing by the 16th century artist Lucas Cranach the Elder, the condemned was hung upside down and sawed vertically in two. Because blood continued to flow to the brain, the victim is believed to have remained alive for much of this process. The notoriously cruel Roman Emperor Caligula had those who had fallen out of favor with him sawed in half across the torso while he ate and watched, according to A History of Torture, by George R. Scott.
Immurement
Bloodless but cruel nonetheless, immurement is the practice of encapsulating a living person in a wall, where they die of dehydration or hunger. According to Eastern European folklore, a sacrificial young maiden would be immured upon the completion of a large-scale building project. Roman Vestal Virgins, and Roman Catholic nuns, who broke their vows of chastity were said to be sentenced to death by immurement. As reported in the 19th century magazine, Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, a skeleton was discovered within a wall at Coldingham Abbey in Berwickshire, Scotland, believed to be the remains of an immured nun.
Hanged, Drawn, and Quartered
Execution by hanging, drawing and quartering was an official penalty in England from 1351 until the 19th century. Reserved exclusively for men found guilty of high treason, this process involved several increasingly horrific steps. First, the condemned was strapped to a wooden plank and dragged by horse to the site of execution. Then, he would be hanged to near death, only to be taken down and resuscitated. Next, while tied to a ladder or wooden table, he would be disemboweled and have his genitals cut off and cast into a fire in front of him. Finally, he would be cut into four pieces, or quartered.
Guy Fawkes, sentenced to death by hanging, drawing and quartering in 1606 for his involvement in the Gunpowder Plot, a failed attempt to assasinate King James I of England and VI of Scotland. Fawkes managed to jump from the scaffold and break his neck, thus killing himself and avoiding the tortures of disembowelment and quartering. His body was nevertheless quartered, and the parts put on display.
The Gibbet
Gibbeting, or hanging in chains, was a way to display the bodies of executed criminals as a means to warn others of the consequences of crime. Used predominantly in England and its colonies, the gibbet could be a simple gallows-type structure, or a metal cage. The gibbets, with bodies inside, were commonly placed along roads and waterways, to deter pirates and highway robbers. Though gibbeting was usually done post-humously as a punishment in addition to death, until the 17th century condemned criminals were sometimes placed in a metal cage alive to die of thirst.
Pictured is the gibbeting of Captain William Kidd, executed for piracy in 1701. Kidd had to be hung twice (the rope broke on the first attempt) before his body was hung in chains over the River Thames. England outlawed gibbeting in 1834.
The Brazen Bull
Devised in ancient Greece under the the tyrant Phalaris, the brazen bull was an especially contrived and sadistic means of execution. The victim would be placed inside of a hollow bull made of bronze through a door in the side. A fire would then be lit under the bull, heating the metal and roasting the victim inside. Following Phalaris' request, the metal worker Perillos designed the bull so that it would exhale plumes of fragrant smoke through its nostrils. Inside the head of the bull, Perillos placed a system of tubes that transformed the victim's screams into a sound resembling the bellowing of a bull. As pictured, Phalaris decided to test the invention on Perillos himself. Before Perillos could die inside the bull, he was taken out and thrown to his death down a steep hill.
In ancient Rome, the bull was used to kill Christians. According to legend, the martyr Saint Eustace was roasted along with his family inside the brazen bull, at the behest of the Emperor Hadrian.
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