Many myths and partial truths have grown over the centuries about hanging. This article tries to separate these from the known facts.
Hanging is a Slow and Painful Death
This is a PART TRUTH, depending on the style of hanging used. Based on photos and videos of actual hangings in Iran and Kuwait, and of Nazis executed in Germany and Poland after World War II, it is possible to get a clearer picture of what really happens.
A number of short drop/suspension hangings carried out in Iran have been filmed, and these videos show that consciousness is often lost within 10 seconds or less, although body movements can continue for up to three minutes. It is reasonable to assume that the conscious phase is painful due to constriction and pressure on the neck and the panic caused by being unable to breathe.
A man named Niazali was hanged in Iran in February 1996 but survived after the victim’s relatives pardoned him. He told the Iranian daily newspaper Kayhan what it had felt like:
“That first second lasted like a thousand years. I felt my arms and legs jerking out of control. Up on the gallows in the dark, I was trying to fill my lungs with air, but they were crumpled up like plastic bags.”
The Working Group on Human Asphyxia examined 14 hangings that had been filmed. None of these were executions; all were suicides or auto-erotic hangings. Their published results provide valuable insight into what happens in short drop/suspension hangings, which are still by far the most commonly used method of execution by hanging in the 21st century. Some 440 of the 630 hanging executions in the first six months of 2015 utilized this format. The Working Group concluded that consciousness was typically lost between 8 and 18 seconds after suspension.
A secondary “convulsive” phase may occur while unconscious, persisting for as long as three or four minutes, with visible movements of the body and limbs and drawing up of the legs. Agonal respiration sounds may be heard, with the person gagging and gasping for air.
Decerebrate posturing typically follows the convulsive phase, where the limbs extend and contort. A decorticate phase may follow with further apparent contortions. Decorticate posturing is a sign of damage to the brain stem and spinal cord. These two phases can last about three minutes before the person goes limp, but isolated spasmodic body movements can continue for some minutes longer. All of these movements may be mistakenly perceived or reported as conscious suffering and struggling.
Observations from a Partial Suspension Hanging in Syria
A film of a partial suspension suicide hanging of a young woman in Syria in 2012 appears genuine and conforms to the above description. She placed what appears to be a scarf around her neck, with the knot at the back, then bent her legs so that her body weight was taken by her neck. After a few seconds, she removed the “noose” and adjusted the camera angle before returning and re-applying the scarf.
If the first few seconds had been incredibly painful, it is likely she would not have tried again.
Movements persisted for just over two minutes; for a short time, her legs were drawn up and she was fully suspended. Her arms and hands were completely free, yet at no time did she put her hands to her throat to try and relieve any pain. It is natural to touch a part of the body experiencing pain, suggesting either it was not painful or she passed into unconsciousness very quickly. Her face did not appear contorted with pain.
The Difference Between Short Drop and Measured Drop Hangings
The short drop/suspension form of hanging develops far less force and causes far less damage to the structures of the neck. It is less likely to tear muscles and tendons than longer drops might.
In executions, the wrists are typically secured behind the prisoner’s back by handcuffs or straps, limiting arm movements, although these are clearly visible in at least two filmed Iranian hangings. Similarly, the legs are normally strapped or shackled, limiting movement, although they may be drawn up almost to a sitting position, as seen in a hanging in Tehran in June 2012.
In properly carried out measured drop hangings where there is fracture or dislocation of the upper cervical vertebrae and severance of the spinal cord, there is usually no obvious or visible suffering.
Time of Death and Heartbeat After Hanging
Countries such as the USA and Kuwait typically report the time of death as when no heartbeat can be found with a stethoscope. It is not unusual to see reported times ranging from 10 to 20 minutes from when the trap door opens to when the attending physician pronounces death. These reports can give the misleading impression that the person was conscious and suffering throughout the period.
The heart continues to beat due to the sinoatrial node, located in the upper wall of the right atrium, which acts as the heart’s pacemaker. It generates nerve impulses causing the atria to contract, maintaining the heartbeat for up to 25 minutes until the build-up of acidic carbon dioxide in the blood prevents further muscular function.
A study of 53 executions of Nazi war criminals at Hameln, Germany by British hangman Albert Pierrepoint found that 51 made no movement after the drop. In two cases there was slight contraction of the knees. The audible heartbeat persisted for an average of 12 minutes.
Brain death is thought to occur within 5-6 minutes after suspension due to oxygen deprivation and blood congestion caused by the jugular veins being blocked.
Effects of the Drop Length
Where hanging severs the spinal cord at or just below the level where it joins the brain stem (the medulla oblongata), unconsciousness is thought to be instantaneous. Where the spinal cord remains intact, obvious physical suffering and visible struggling may occur, often more intense than in short drop hanging.
The longer the drop, the greater the acceleration of the body due to gravity, and the greater the damage to the neck structures.
If the drop is extremely long, the head may be torn off, as happened twice in the USA, once in Britain, and once in Kuwait.
If the drop is correctly calculated, the neck will break. If not long enough, the person will slowly suffocate but experience far more pain due to the force on muscles, ligaments, and tissues caused by the insufficient drop.
Witness Accounts of Struggling
Dr. W. A. Carte, who gave evidence to the Aberdare Committee, witnessed long drop hangings where the neck was not broken. He stated that struggling persisted for up to five minutes, though he thought consciousness was lost after about a minute and a half, followed by a quiescent period and then involuntary unconscious movements lasting another two minutes.
The Kuwait Times filmed the long drop hanging of two men on June 18th. Hajjaj Al-Saadi struggled hard for 45 seconds after the drop, due to the drop being inadequate. The second man, Ahmadi Abdulsalam, died without struggle and his body relaxed within seconds. Both men were pronounced dead about 10 minutes later. The video is available on the Kuwait Times YouTube page (Warning: graphic content).
Hanging Causes Instantaneous Death
Strictly speaking, this is a MYTH, largely propagated by the British government in the early 20th century to make executions seem more palatable. At best, hanging causes instant unconsciousness and immediate cessation of breathing, but death is never truly instantaneous due to the continued heartbeat.
American newspaper reports from the early 20th century often stated whether a person’s neck was broken and how long it took to die.
In Britain, this information was secret, but the reality was likely similar. Heartbeat cessation times vary widely—from 3 to 25 minutes.
Defecation and/or Urination Before and During Hanging
This is a PART TRUTH. Sudden sphincter relaxation caused by an adrenaline rush is common in extreme fear, such as executions.
Olga Hepnarová, the last woman executed in Czechoslovakia in 1975, lost control of bodily functions while being dragged to the gallows, according to writer Bohumil Hrabal.
George Kelly, hanged in Liverpool in 1950, reportedly soiled himself en route to the gallows.
Defecation and urination can occur in any death (natural or unnatural) due to muscle relaxation at death. These phenomena happen in hangings, electrocution, gassing, and lethal injection.
However, most hanging cases show no such signs. Among many high-quality photos from Iran and Kuwait, only three show urination and none defecation. It is possible urination was more common at London’s Tyburn due to long, alcohol-fueled journeys before execution, giving rise to the phrase “pissing when you can’t whistle.”
Do Male Prisoners Have Erections and Ejaculate During Hanging?
In popular culture, it is often claimed men have erections and ejaculate when hanged, sometimes called “angel lust.”
These phenomena do occur, but very rarely.
Hanging Where the Spinal Cord is Severed
Though unconscious, the heart may continue beating for 3 to 25 minutes. In Britain, prisoners were required to hang for one hour up to 1957, so heartbeat cessation could occur 35 to 57 minutes after the drop.
When the heart stops, liquid blood pools in the abdomen, which can cause penile erections (priapism) in male prisoners and labial engorgement in females.
These are post-mortem and unconscious effects. In modern executions, bodies are usually taken down immediately after death certification, reducing priapism chances.
Historical Observations on Ejaculation
Autopsy notes from a British hanging in 1924 (Patrick Mahon) by Sir Bernard Spilsbury noted no priapism or seminal effusion but a slight escape of urine.
Early 1900s executions in Melbourne, Australia recorded ejaculation three times, though death was stated as “instantaneous.”
Hanging Where the Spinal Cord is Not Severed
A photograph of the execution of the Lincoln conspirators in 1865 appears to show one man (Lewis Payne) with an erection during a violent struggle.
Dr. Charles Croker King examined the body of John Hurley, hanged in Galway in 1853, whose neck was not broken. King found an erect penis with whitish fluid containing spermatozoa, detailed in his 1854 treatise On Death by Hanging. King was a professor at Queen’s College Galway, and his writings are scholarly.
Physiological Causes of Erections and Ejaculation
An erection may be caused by constriction of carotid arteries and jugular veins preventing blood flow to and from the head, combined with elevated heart rate. Pressurized blood fills the corpora cavernosa.
Ejaculation may be caused by stimulation during conscious and convulsive phases, pressure on the vagus nerve (responsible for sexual arousal), and reduced oxygen to the brain—as seen in autoerotic asphyxia.
Public Hanging Analysis in Iran
The analysis shows four instances of apparent erection and two possible ejaculations. Photos from July 2012 of a man hanged for rape in Rabat, Iran, show a bulge and a damp spot near death, not visible in earlier images.
The “Pleasures of Hanging”
A Reported Experience of a Simulated Hanging
In November 1885, The New York Times published an article under the above headline. The British newspaper The Pall Mall Gazette, which originally published the story, stated that the person who wrote of his experiences was a member of a suicide club. The hanging took place in a barn, where a “stout” rope had been tied to the rafters. The anonymous subject mounted a chair and placed the noose around his neck before his friends removed the chair.
He describes feeling a “great jerk.” In another moment, he was transported into a new world, which he described as being “more beautiful than anything imagined by the poets.” He further relates “swimming in a sea of oil,” which was an “exquisitely delicious” feeling. He reported seeing bright colours and lights. He “swam” to shore and lay on the beach, but when he opened his eyes, he saw his friends peering at him. After he was taken down, he felt pain in his neck and weakness, but still insisted that the experience had been pleasurable. His friends, who had witnessed his convulsions and “struggles,” were not convinced.
I cannot verify this as FACT or MYTH, but it is at least somewhat credible.
The Myth of the Mandrake Plant
There is a famous MYTH surrounding ejaculation and the mandrake plant, which is said to grow under the gallows where a man has ejaculated. The 1985 film Flesh & Blood, supposedly set in the year 1501, has a scene where the main characters come across the corpses of two hanged men. Steven tells Agnes that men ejaculate when hanged and where their semen falls, a mandrake plant grows.
Agnes, having read about the magical powers of the mandrake, digs up the root beneath one of the corpses, saying that if they each eat part of it, they will love each other forever. Romantic, perhaps, but there doesn’t appear to be any truth in this.
Facial Disfigurement During Hanging: Fact or Myth?
Eyes Bulging and Tongue Protrusion
This seems to be largely a MYTH. Rather than relying on apocryphal anecdotes, I would prefer to rely upon the analysis of public hangings in Iran, mentioned above. This shows obvious physical struggling in 10 cases, the tongue protruding slightly in four cases, no obvious reddening of the face in any case, drooling from the mouth in two cases, and no instances of eyes bulging out of their sockets.
In most cases, the faces looked peaceful in death, as was often reported at British hangings when the press were allowed to see the body at inquest. All of the Iranian prisoners were hanged using coiled nooses with the knot placed at the back of the neck, thus putting maximum pressure on the base of the tongue (hence it protruding in some cases) and on the carotid arteries and jugular veins. Typically, the prisoner is left on the rope for 20 minutes in Iran.
Can a Person Survive Hanging?
The answer is YES, but only very rarely. Hanging, when carried out with little or no drop, does not cause instant death. Neither does it cause severe physical damage to the neck, but rather squeezes the life out of the person over a period of time due to constriction of the neck causing pressure on the carotid arteries, jugular veins, and Vagal nerve, and pressure on the trachea (windpipe). Respiration does not stop either automatically or totally but rather reduces over time.
Pressure on the carotid artery may cause a reflex which slows the heart and may eventually stop it. The vertebrae protect the vertebral and spinal arteries, which also supply blood to the brain, and thus the brain—in what is a virtually comatose state—does not necessarily become totally starved of oxygen. It is notable that in none of the cases examined below did the person exhibit signs of obvious brain damage after their recovery.
Case: Vahid Zare, 8th May 2013, Mashad, Iran
Vahid Zare was hanged in public in Mashad, Iran, for the murder of a young soldier. The victim’s family witnessed the hanging. As normal, little drop was given. Zare struggled violently for some seconds after the chair was removed from under him. After he had been suspended for 59 seconds, the victim’s father decided to pardon him, as is permitted under Islamic Sharia law.
Officials immediately supported Zare while the noose was removed and he could be taken down. He was given oxygen at the scene and taken to hospital, where it seems that he recovered quite quickly. Sadly, his thoughts on the ordeal were not recorded.
Case: “Alireza M.,” 9th October 2013, Bojnord, Iran
Another case of survival occurred in Iran on the 9th of October 2013. A prisoner was found to be alive 24 hours after being hanged and declared dead. According to the official website of Iranian State Broadcasting, Jam-e-Jam Online, a 37-year-old man identified as “Alireza M.” was hanged in the prison of Bojnord (north-eastern Iran), having been convicted of possession of 1 kilogram of crystal meth.
The hanging lasted for 12 minutes before a doctor confirmed his death. The death certificate was signed by the judge and other officials present, and his body was transferred to the cold room.
The next day (October 10th), when the cold room staff came to remove the body, they realized that he was still breathing. He was transferred to hospital, and his condition was reported as satisfactory by October 15th.
Historical Survivals in Britain
In Britain, prior to around 1750, the practice of leaving the person on the rope for one hour had not been instituted, and they were taken down when the officials thought they were dead. There are a number of reliable cases where a person was revived after an apparently normal execution. See the “Half Hanged” page of this site for descriptions and analysis of these cases.
Would a Person Be Hanged Twice?
YES, they would—both in Britain and the USA. Unlike those who were actually hanged until apparently dead, this unfortunate class of prisoners were normally hanged again. It was not unknown in Britain prior to 1888, when the hangman supplied the rope, for it to break and for the prisoner to fall through the trap doors onto the ground below.
Normally, they didn’t sustain serious injury from this and were brought back up and hanged again using a new rope—often to the disgust of the crowd. However, it was the law and in accordance with their sentence that they be hanged by the neck until dead.
Case: William Collier, 7th August 1866, Stafford Gaol
Staffordshire’s last public hanging took place on the gatehouse roof of Stafford Gaol. Thirty-five-year-old William Collier was to die for the murder of gamekeeper Thomas Smith. Hangman George Smith from Dudley used the same rope that had been used for Staffordshire’s previous execution. When he released the trap, the splice in the rope gave way, causing it to slip from the chain, and Collier plunged down inside the box-like structure of Stafford’s gallows. A new rope was brought out and the execution repeated—this time successfully.
Smith was booed and hissed by the crowd of 2,000.
Case: John Lee, “The Man They Could Not Hang”
John Lee is the only case I am aware of where the prisoner survived three attempts to hang him and was reprieved. Twenty-year-old John Henry George Lee was convicted of the murder of his elderly employer, Emma Anne Whitehead Keyse, for whom he worked as a footman at “The Glen” in the village of Babacombe in Devon.
Emma’s body was discovered in the dining room on Saturday, 15th November 1884. Her throat had been cut, she had head injuries, and an attempt had been made to burn her body—the house having been set on fire with paraffin in three different places.
Only one man was in the house at the time of the murder—John Lee. He had a cut on his arm, which he claimed he got from breaking a window to allow smoke to escape. The paraffin can, which had been full the day before and stored in Lee’s pantry (it being one of his duties to top up the lamps), was found to be empty. He was arrested and charged with his employer’s murder, coming to trial before Sir Henry Manisty at the next Devon Assizes, where he continued to protest his innocence.
He was convicted on circumstantial evidence and sentenced to death. The execution was set for Monday, 23rd February 1885, at Exeter Prison, and James Berry was appointed to carry it out. The gallows was set up in the coach house of the prison that normally housed the prison van.
Lee was led in just before 8 a.m., and the usual preparations were made. But when Berry pulled the lever, virtually nothing happened—the trap doors just dropped an inch or so. Berry stamped on them and tried the lever again, but to no avail. The hood, noose, and straps were removed, and Lee was taken back to his cell while the trap release mechanism was checked and re-tested. It worked perfectly.
The process was repeated, with the same result. Yet again, the trap worked as soon as Lee was removed. After the third unsuccessful attempt, the governor took the decision to halt the execution while he obtained directions from the Home Office. Lee’s death sentence was later commuted to life in prison by the Home Secretary, Sir William Harcourt, and he served 22 years before being released from Portland Prison in 1907.
He became known as “The Man They Could Not Hang,” and the case received widespread publicity.
What Went Wrong with the Gallows?
Conspiracy theories abounded as to why the trap would not open with Lee on it—ranging from divine intervention to the wood swelling in the damp weather, to a prisoner who had helped to erect it placing a wedge between the trap doors.
The reality was more prosaic. The gallows had last been used in a different location in the prison for the hanging of Annie Tooke in 1879. When it was erected in the coach house, the frame was not installed correctly. One of the long hinges fouled on the drawbar when there was weight on the trap doors but not when there wasn’t. When the lever was pushed, and the drawbar slid along until the cranks lined up with the two hinge ends, one hinge end dropped through—but the other remained resting on the crank by one-eighth of an inch. So the doors moved slightly (twisting a little as one end dropped and the other didn’t) but then held firm.
Ghosts of the Hanged
Most hanging prisons seem to have at least one ghost, according to paranormalists and often to the staff as well.
Unsurprisingly, given the number of hangings there, London’s Newgate Prison was said to be haunted by several ghosts. Footsteps were reported along Dead Man’s Walk at night, and one warder reported seeing the face of a hanged man in a cell. An aging female form was also said to have been seen in one of the yards.
The Old Derby Gaol and Bodmin Gaol are both claimed to be haunted. On a visit to Derby, I was given quite a lot of detail on its ghosts. One of them occasionally pushes bottles and glasses off the bar.
Gordon Trenoweth is said to haunt Exeter Prison. Trenoweth was the last person to be hanged there on the 6th of April 1943.
The old State Penitentiary in Boise, Idaho, claims to be haunted by the ghost of Raymond Snowden, who was the last man to be hanged there on the 18th of October 1957. Snowden struggled hard after the drop fell and did not have an easy death.
Personally, I neither wholly believe nor disbelieve in ghosts. If one accepts that electrical energy cannot be destroyed, where does the electrical energy within the brain dissipate to? Normally it would be to the ground (electrical earth). Hanging is an unusual form of death in that the person is suspended in mid-air by a rope and is therefore electrically insulated. So there is nowhere for the electrical energy to go until the body is taken down and laid on the ground—typically an hour later.
So MYTH or FACT? I leave this one to you.
The Superstition of Touching the Hanged
Prior to the abolition of public hanging in Britain in 1868, it was not unusual for people suffering from warts and wens (as cysts were known) to attend an execution and pay the hangman to rub the executed criminal’s hand on the affected part. It was believed that the affliction would transfer itself to the dead criminal.
The Gentleman’s Magazine reported that at the hanging of murderer Francis Gorman at Tyburn on Monday, the 4th of March 1767, “a young woman, with a wen upon her neck, was lifted up while he was hanging, and had the wen rubbed with the dead man’s hand, from a superstitious notion that it would effect a cure.”
Ten years later, at the hanging of Dr. Dodd at Tyburn on the 27th of June 1777, a newspaper reported that “After he had hung about ten minutes, a very decently dressed young woman went up to the gallows, in order to have a wen in her face stroked by the Doctor’s hand, it being a received opinion among the vulgar that it is certain cure for such a disorder.
The executioner, having untied the doctor’s hand, stroked the part affected several times therewith.” Unsurprisingly, there is no record of any actual cure being effected!
So this one appears to be a MYTH.
Support the Archive
If you have found this article useful and would like to help preserve and maintain this historical archive, please consider supporting the site.