Decapitation
Decapitationorbeheadingis the act of cutting off theheadfrom the rest of the body of a living thing.Beheadingusually means that the removal of the head is deliberate. It is generally done during anexecutionwith anaxe,sword,orguillotine.If the removal of the head is an accident or unintentional, it is calleddecapitation.It can happen because of an auto accident,explosion,factory accident, a mistake during ahangingor some other violent accident.
Decapitation is alwaysfatal,that is, the result is alwaysdeath.This is because it causes all other organs to stop receiving nervous signals from the brain that are needed to function, while the supply of blood, and therefore oxygen, to the brain itself is also cut off.
Decapitation can also describe the removal of a head from a body that is already dead. In these situations, the head is usually atrophyor a public display of warning.
Beheading was the usual means of death penalty in Scandinavian countries in the past. Noblemen were beheaded with asword,commoners with anaxe.The last execution by beheading in Finland occurred in 1822, when a farmhand Tahvo Putkonen was beheaded for murder. The last beheading in Sweden occurred in 1910, when Johan Andersson-Ander was guillotined for murder. Also Germany, France and Belgium favoured beheading in the past. In those countries was carried out byguillotine.
Last beheading in Europe occurred 1977, when aTunisianmurderer Hamida Djandoubi was guillotined inFrance.
Some countries, especially Arab countries or former French colonies, still use beheading as the means of execution. InSaudi Arabia,the convicts are beheaded with asword.
The executioner who performs beheadings is called aheadsman.
History
[change|change source]The kingdom of Saudi Arabia has had centuries of public beheadings, but in 2013 is considering firing squads as an alternative means of execution.[1]
Famous people who have been beheaded
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Biblical
[change|change source]- Goliath
- John the Baptistin theGospels
- Holofernesin theBook of Judith
- Apostle James,traditionally
- Apostle Paul,traditionally
China
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England
[change|change source]- Anne Boleyn(1536)
- Catherine Howard(1542)
- Lady Jane Grey(1554)
- Mary, Queen of Scots(1587)
- Sir Walter Raleigh(1618)
- Charles I, King of England and Scotland(1649)
- Blackbeard(1718)
The Colonial Americas
[change|change source]- Panama:Vasco Núñez de Balboa(1519)
Frisia
[change|change source]French Revolution
[change|change source]Iraq
[change|change source]- Shosei Koda
- Kim Sun-il
- Kenneth Bigley
- Nick Berg
- Eugene Armstrong
- Jack Hensley
- Maher Kemal
- Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti
Switzerland
[change|change source]- Wildhans von Breitenlandenbergand 61 companions following the siege ofGreifenseeduring theOld Zürich War(1444).