Could You --Would You Work As A Hangman?

I recommend the book "Lord high executioner" by Howard Engel. Described as "A witty history about the methods and the men and woman who throughout the centuries have been state executioners."

It's a few years since I read it, but I believe that Albert Pierrepoint, the last British hangman was paid £50 and his assistant, £25.
A reasonable sum in those days.
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Sassycakes said:
Even though I believe in the death penalty ,I could never be the Executioner,no matter what amount of money I would be paid.
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I believe in the death penalty in the most heinous cases --- the Manson murders would be an example, murders involving torture, sexual sadism, etc. And for others convicted of willful murder, I believe life is appropriate -- real life, not with parole down the road.
 
Yes! Sorry to differ with so many. I believe in today's world, every death row person has had the opportunity to exhaust all possible appeals and retrials and, come the day to trip the lever, is guilty of a heinous crime. The "art" of hanging is much more than simply pulling the lever for the drop door. The goal is to snap the neck and have instant death with little or no suffering. The executioner must perform some sophisticated math and come up with the exact length of drop to accomplish that. It all depends on the weight of the individual. Drop them too far and you could even snap off the head... or completely sever the spinal cord at the neck and end up with a very unsightly "goose neck". Drop them not far enough and they will kick and suffer until they strangle. To be executioner and rid the world of a "animal", yet perform the task in the least cruel manner to both he/she who is being hung and the witnesses, would be my goal.
 
The most famous executioner in England
was albert pierrepoint he executed
433 men and 17 women also 200
nazi war criminals mostly the staff
at the prison of war camps

he was the longest serving hangman
in British history so to answer your question

i think if I knew for sure he was guilty then yes
i could but if there was a doubt about there guilt
then no
 
As said above, I could handle being an executioner if the capital punishment was hanging. I could pull the trip rope for a guillotine. And, I could flip the switch for the electric chair. What I could NOT do would be to stick a needle in someone for injection of lethal drugs. I could not serve on a firing squad.
 
As I was reading through this thread, the thought suddenly came to mind, why is it that institutional killing is done by such cruel methods? Hanging, the electric chair, ....why not by a firing squad of ten people who are excellent marksmen? Is the desire to inflict suffering part of that decision? Even death by lethal injection is thought to be quite painful according to this article: https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn7269-execution-by-injection-far-from-painless/

From the article: Execution by lethal injection may not be the painless procedure most Americans assume, say researchers from Florida and Virginia.
They examined post-mortem blood levels of anaesthetic and believe that prisoners may have been capable of feeling pain in almost 90% of cases and may have actually been conscious when they were put to death in over 40% of cases.

Given the potential levels of suffering involved, I have to wonder at the 'humanity' of everyone involved in the decision, management and organization required to kill someone.
 
I witnessed one execution here in Pennsylvania in the very late 90's. A serial killer we arrested in Philadelphia had kidnapped, raped and killed six women in the basement of his home. I was called to testify only to support some of the evidence that we had found, retrieved, marked and cataloged it. After the trial and the conviction, I think he sat on death row for about 10-12 years before being executed. My Captain asked three of us Troopers to decide who would be one of the witnesses for the Commonwealth. I drew the short straw.
 
SeaBreeze said:
No, I think even if it paid well, I couldn't get enough hours in. :p I'm for the death penalty for certain criminals, but I wouldn't be happy working in that field.
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My schedule would change too often with those pesky things called appeals and/or judges. One would constantly be getting calls saying don't bother coming in today.
 

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