The most brutal tortures and executions. The most brutal executions in Alcatraz

Every criminal must be punished! This is what all of humanity thinks, and many demand that the punishment be as harsh and terrible as possible. In ancient times, it was not enough for people to take the life of a convicted person; they wanted to see how criminals suffered from pain. That is why various painful punishments were invented in the form of impalement, gutting, quartering or feeding to insects. Today you will find out what the most brutal executions were used in the past.

Alcatraz - the most terrible prison in America

In Alcatraz, one of the most famous prisons with strict rules and strict standards, inveterate criminals did not have the opportunity to experience the full horror of the cruel methods of execution invented by judges and executioners. Although Alcatraz is considered the most terrible prison in America, there was no equipment for carrying out the death penalty.

This type of execution was a favorite pastime of the Romanian ruler Vlad the Impaler, better known as Vlad Dracula. On his orders, the victims were impaled on a stake with a rounded top. The instrument of torture was inserted through the anus several tens of centimeters deep, after which it was installed vertically and raised higher. Under the weight of its own weight, the victim slowly slid down. The cause of death during impalement was rupture of the rectum, which resulted in the development of peritonitis. According to available data, about 20-30 thousand subordinates of the Romanian ruler died from this type of execution.

The idea of ​​​​creating an invention designed to combat heretics belonged to Ippolito Marsili. The torture device was a wooden pyramid rising on four legs. The naked accused was suspended from special ropes and slowly lowered onto the tip of the pyramid. The execution process was suspended for the night, and in the morning the torture resumed again. In some cases, additional weights were placed on the defendant's legs to increase pressure. The victims' excruciating suffering could last for several days. Death occurred as a result of serious suppuration and blood poisoning, since the tip of the pyramid was washed very rarely.

Heretics and blasphemers usually faced this type of execution. The convict had to wear special metal pants, in which he was hung from a tree. Sunburn- this is nothing compared to what man had to experience. Hanging in this position, the victim became food for predatory animals.

You won’t envy those who had to go through this punishment. The limbs of the offender were tied to opposite sides of the hanger, after which, using a special lever, the frame was stretched until the arms and legs began to come out of their joints. Sometimes the executioners turned the lever so hard that the victim simply lost his limbs. To intensify the suffering, thorns were also added under the victim’s back.

This type of execution was used exclusively for women. For abortion or adultery, women were allowed to live, but were deprived of their breasts. The sharp teeth of the execution instrument were red-hot, after which the executioner tore the woman’s breasts into shapeless shreds with this device. Some French and Germans came up with other names for the torture device: “Tarantula” and “Spanish Spider”.

Homosexuals, blasphemers, liars and women who were not born little man, went through hellish torment. For those who sinned, a specially invented instrument of torture in the form of a pear with four petals was inserted into the anus, mouth or vagina. By rotating the screw, each petal slowly opened inside, causing hellish pain and digging into the wall of the rectum, pharynx or cervix. Death as a result of such execution almost never occurred, but it was often used in combination with other tortures.

Those sentenced to the wheel most often died from shock and dehydration. The convict was tied to a wheel, and the wheel was placed on a pole, so that the victim's gaze was directed to the sky. The executioner used an iron crowbar to break the man's legs and arms. The victim with broken limbs was not removed from the wheel, but was left to die on it. Often those sentenced to wheeling also became objects of consumption for birds of prey.

With the help of a two-handed saw, homosexuals and witches were most often executed, although some murderers and thieves were subjected to such torture. The execution instrument was operated by two people. They had to saw a condemned man hanging upside down. The blood flow to the brain caused by the position of the body prevented the victim from losing consciousness for a long period of time. So the unheard-of torment seemed eternal.

The Spanish Inquisition was particularly cruel. The most popular method of torture for the investigative and judicial body, created in 1478 by Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile, was the head crusher. In this type of execution, the victim's chin was fixed on a bar, and a metal cap was placed on his head. Using a special screw, the executioner squeezed the victim's head. Even if a decision was made to stop the execution, the person was left with crippled eyes, jaw and brain for the rest of his life.

A person's legs were placed in wire cutters with sharp teeth, the number of which varied from 3 to 20, but the hands were also not ignored. Death did not occur as a result of torture with wire cutters, but the victim was very mutilated. In some cases, to increase pain, the teeth of the pliers were red-hot.

History knows that there are still many sophisticated methods of execution, and judging by how cruel and terrible they were, one can only be glad that not one of them has survived to this day.

Consider yourself lucky. If you believe this, you most likely live in a society that not only has a functioning legal system, but also one where that system allows for the hope of fair and effective justice, especially where the death penalty exists. For most of human history, the main objective the death penalty was not so much an interruption human life, how incredibly cruel torture the victim is. Anyone sentenced to death had to go through hell on earth. So, the 25 most cruel methods of execution in the history of mankind.

Skafism

An ancient Persian method of execution in which a person was stripped naked and placed in a tree trunk so that only the head, arms and legs protruded. They were then fed only milk and honey until the victim suffered from severe diarrhea. Thus in everything open areas honey got into the body, which was supposed to attract insects. As the person's feces accumulated, it would increasingly attract insects and they would start feeding and breeding in his/her skin, which would become more gangrenous. Death may take more than 2 weeks and is most likely due to starvation, dehydration and shock.

Guillotine

Created in the late 1700s, it was one of the first methods of execution that called for ending a life rather than inflicting pain. Although the guillotine was specifically invented as a form of human execution, it was banned in France, and last time used in 1977.

Republican marriage

A very strange method of execution was practiced in France. The man and woman were tied together and then thrown into the river to drown.

Cement shoes

The execution method was preferred by the American mafia. Similar to Republican Marriage in that it used drowning, but instead of being tied to a person of the opposite sex, the victim's feet were placed in concrete blocks.

Execution by an elephant

Elephants in South-East Asia often trained to prolong the victim's death. The elephant is a heavy beast, but easy to train. Teaching him to trample criminals on command has always been an exciting thing. Many times this method has been used to show that there are rulers even in the natural world.

Walking on the plank

Mainly practiced by pirates and sailors. The victims often did not have time to drown, as they were attacked by sharks, which, as a rule, followed the ships.

Bestiary

Bestiaries were criminals in Ancient Rome who were given over to be torn to pieces by wild animals. Although sometimes the act was voluntary and carried out for money or recognition, often the bestiaries were political prisoners who were sent into the arena naked and unable to defend themselves.

Mazatello

The method is named after the weapon used during execution, usually a hammer. This method of capital punishment was popular in the Papal States in the 18th century. The condemned man was escorted to the scaffold in the square and he was left alone with the executioner and the coffin. Then the executioner raised the hammer and struck the victim's head. Since such a blow, as a rule, did not lead to death, the victims' throats were cut immediately after the blow.

Vertical "shaker"

Originating in the United States, this method of capital punishment is now often used in countries such as Iran. Although very similar to hanging, in this case, in order to sever the spinal cord, the victims were violently lifted up by the neck, usually using a crane.

Sawing

Supposedly used in parts of Europe and Asia. The victim was turned upside down and then sawed in half, starting from the groin. Since the victim was upside down, the brain received enough blood to keep the victim conscious while the major abdominal vessels were ruptured.

Flaying

The act of removing skin from a person's body. This type of execution was often used to incite fear, as the execution was usually carried out in public place in plain sight.

Bloody Eagle

This type of execution was described in the Scandinavian sagas. The victim's ribs were broken so that they resembled wings. Then the lungs of the victim were pulled through the hole between the ribs. The wounds were sprinkled with salt.

Gridiron

Roasting a victim over hot coals.

Crushing

Although you have already read about the elephant crushing method, there is another similar method. Crushing was popular in Europe and America as a method of torture. Each time the victim refused to comply with the demands, more weight was placed on their chest until the victim died from lack of air.

Wheeling

Also known as Catherine's Wheel. The wheel looked like an ordinary cart wheel, only large sizes with a lot of spokes. The victim was undressed, the arms and legs were spread out and tied, then the executioner beat the victim with a large hammer, breaking the bones. At the same time, the executioner tried not to deliver fatal blows.

Spanish tickler

The method is also known as "cat's paws". These devices were used by the executioner to tear and tear off the skin of the victim. Often death did not occur immediately, but as a result of infection.

Burning at the stake

A popular method of death penalty in history. If the victim was lucky, he or she was executed along with several others. This ensured that the flames would be large and that death would result from carbon monoxide poisoning rather than being burned alive.

Bamboo

Extremely slow and painful punishment was used in Asia. The bamboo stems sticking out of the ground were sharpened. The accused was then hung over the place where this bamboo grew. The rapid growth of bamboo and its pointed tips allowed the plant to pierce a person’s body in one night.

Premature burial

This technique has been used by governments throughout the history of capital punishment. One of the last documented cases was during the Nanjing massacre in 1937, when Japanese troops buried Chinese citizens alive.

Ling Chi

Also known as "death by slow cutting" or "slow death", this form of execution was eventually outlawed in China in the early 20th century. The victim's body organs were slowly and methodically removed while the executioner tried to keep him or her alive as long as possible.

Hanged, Drowned and Dismembered

Used mainly in England. The method is considered one of the most brutal forms of execution ever created. As the name suggests, the execution was carried out in three parts. Part one - the victim was tied to wooden frame. So she hung almost until she was half dead. Immediately after this, the victim's stomach was ripped open and the entrails were removed. Next, the entrails were burned in front of the victim. The condemned man was then beheaded. After all this, his body was divided into four parts and scattered throughout England as a public display. This punishment was applied only to men; convicted women, as a rule, were burned at the stake.

On electric chair, then the ancient world was especially inventive in terms of sophisticated torture and punishment. The types of execution used in the East were especially terrible, and Ancient China distinguished himself in this more than anyone else. It is the Celestial Empire that holds the palm in the invention of executions in the world.

Sadistic executions of ancient China

In ancient times, people in the Celestial Empire could be executed without trial for the most minor sins. Once the cooks were sawed in half just because the rice they cooked did not satisfy the owner. The women, stripped naked, were hung by their arms from rings, and a saw was placed between their legs.

It was impossible to hang on tense arms for a long time, and it was also difficult to sit on a sharp saw for a long time - thus, the women sawed themselves.

In general, women in China could be sawed for any reason.

High-ranking corrupt officials were executed with a terrible execution called “pike bites” or “death by a thousand cuts.” Small pieces of flesh were gradually cut off from the criminal over the course of a year or six months. To prevent bleeding, the wounds were cauterized with a hot iron. In such a situation, suicide seemed to be the highest good, but the executioners kept a vigilant eye on the condemned, not allowing him to die prematurely. Terrible physical suffering was accompanied by moral humiliation.

Suicide is simply a gift of fate, in the case when a piece of flesh is cut off from a person

And today in China it is not considered a great value. A “suitable” person can easily be kidnapped on the street and dismantled for organs. State criminals are subjected to almost medieval torture, and women are castrated using laser beams.

Terrible executions of the Ancient East

The Ancient East invented executions. Here is a rough list of some of them:

1. Punishment by the wall.
2. Crucifixion.
3. Impalement.
4. Torture with a trough.

Brutal executions were also practiced in Ancient Egypt. The method of killing, which was called “punishment by the wall,” consisted in the fact that the criminal was walled up alive, as a result of which he died from suffocation.

Crucifixion was first used in Ancient Phenicia, then the Carthaginians borrowed this method of execution from the Phoenicians. After the Punic Wars, the Romans began to execute people this way. was considered the most despicable - only slaves or hardened criminals died this way. Roman citizens and other people of the noble class were killed with a sword, which was used to cut off the head quickly and painlessly.

At first they impaled people only in Assyria. This type of execution was applied to women who had abortions and to rioters. As a result of the conquests of the Assyrian empire, this type of execution spread throughout the Mediterranean.

The trough execution was one of the most terrible. The body of the condemned man was placed between two troughs, but the head remained outside. The criminal was force-fed by pouring liquid food down his throat. Over time, worms appeared in the feces, which ate the body of the unfortunate man alive.

Muslim extremists of the modern East execute their captives no less brutally. The bloody relay race continues and there is no limit in sight.

Horrible Tortures and Executions of Medieval Europe

European culture was not so creative when it came to torture and execution. execution methods were usually imported from the East. Nevertheless, European justice could hardly be called humane.

Used the following types executions:

• burn alive at the stake;
• boil alive;
• excoriation;
• bury alive;
• wheeling;
• decapitation;
• hanging;
• cut off ears or hands;
• blindness;
• quartering;
• tearing by horses;
• drowning;
• stoning;
• crucifixion

Burning at the stake was a punishment for heresy, but in England this was the punishment for female infidelity. Counterfeiters were boiled alive in cauldrons of boiling oil or tar. A particularly cruel type of execution was when the convict was first placed in a vat of cold water, and then the water was heated to a boil. The skin was torn off from dangerous state criminals and careless doctors, and they could remove it not only from a living person, but also from a corpse.

For significant theft, children were buried alive, and for petty theft, hands were chopped off. Also, for petty theft or fraud, an ear or ears could be cut off. A repeat offender was already subject to the death penalty. Only noble gentlemen who could not be killed for any reason were blinded. Quartering was used as a punishment for high treason, but only men were executed in this way, and women were burned in this case.

Video about the worst executions in the world

Drowning was a punishment for curse words and curses. Ripping by horses, stoning and crucifixion were rare forms of justice. The most humane methods of execution were hanging and beheading - the latter survived into modern times in the form of the guillotine.

In modern Europe it is difficult to find even traces of past atrocities, because any type of torture and the death penalty is strictly prohibited. In the vast majority of European countries capital punishment The punishment is life imprisonment.

We can only be grateful for the fact that gloomy torture and executions are a thing of the distant past, and in modern times they can only be found in backward countries.

From the very beginning of human history, people began to invent the most sophisticated methods of execution in order to punish criminals in such a way that other people would remember it and, on pain of a harsh death, they would not repeat such actions. Below is a list of the ten most disgusting execution methods in history. Fortunately, most of of which are no longer in use.

The bull of Phalaris, also known as the copper bull, is an ancient execution weapon invented by Perilius of Athens in the 6th century BC. The design was a huge copper bull, hollow inside, with a door on the back or side. It had enough space to accommodate a person. The executed person was placed inside, the door was closed, and a fire was lit under the belly of the statue. There were holes in the head and nostrils that made it possible to hear the screams of the person inside, which sounded like the growling of a bull.

It is interesting that the creator of the copper bull himself, Perilaus, was the first to test the device in action on the orders of the tyrant Phalaris. Perilai was pulled out of the bull while still alive, and then thrown off the cliff. Phalaris himself also suffered the same fate - death in a bull.

Hanging, drawing and quartering is a method of execution common in England for treason, which was once considered the most terrible crime. It applied only to men. If a woman was convicted of high treason, she was burned alive. Incredible, but this method was legal and relevant until 1814.

First of all, the convict was tied to a horse-drawn wooden sled and dragged to the place of death. The criminal was then hanged and, just moments before death, taken out of the noose and placed on the table. After this, the executioner castrated and disembowelled the victim, burning the insides in front of the condemned man. Finally, the victim's head was cut off and the body was divided into four parts. The English official Samuel Pepys, having witnessed one of these executions, described it in his famous diary:

“In the morning I met Captain Cuttance, then I went to Charing Cross, where I saw Major General Harrison hanged, drawn and quartered. He tried to look as cheerful as possible in this situation. He was removed from the noose, then his head was cut off and his heart was taken out, showing to the crowd, which caused everyone to rejoice. Previously he judged, but now he was judged.”

Usually all five parts of the executed person were sent to different corners countries where they were ostentatiously mounted on the gallows as a warning to others.

There were two ways of being burned alive. In the first, the condemned man was tied to a stake and covered with firewood and brushwood, so that he burned inside the flame. They say that this is how Joan of Arc was burned. Another method was to place a person on top of a stack of firewood, bundles of brushwood and tie him with ropes or chains to a post, so that the flame slowly rose towards him, gradually engulfing his entire body.

When an execution was carried out by a skilled executioner, the victim burned in the following sequence: ankles, thighs and arms, torso and forearms, chest, face, and finally, the person died. Needless to say, it was very painful. If a large number of people had to be burned at the same time, the victims died from carbon monoxide before the fire reached them. And if the fire was weak, the victim usually died from shock, blood loss or heatstroke.

In later versions of this execution, the criminal was hanged and then burned purely symbolically. This method of execution was used to burn witches in most parts of Europe, however it was not used in England.

Lynching is a particularly torturous method of execution by cutting small pieces from the body over a long period of time. Practiced in China until 1905. The victim's arms, legs and chest were slowly cut off until eventually the head was cut off and stabbed directly in the heart. Many sources claim that the cruelty of this method is greatly exaggerated when they say that the execution could be carried out over several days.

A contemporary witness to this execution, journalist and politician Henry Norman, describes it as follows:

“The criminal was tied to the cross, and the executioner, armed with a sharp knife, began to grab handfuls of fleshy parts of the body, such as thighs and breasts, and cut them off. After that, he removed the joints and parts of the body protruding forward, one by one the nose and ears, and fingers. Then the limbs were cut off piece by piece at the wrists and ankles, elbows and knees, shoulders and hips. Finally, the victim was stabbed directly in the heart and his head was cut off.”

The wheel, also known as Catherine's Wheel, is a medieval execution device. A man was tied to a wheel. After which they broke all the large bones of the body with an iron hammer and left them to die. The wheel was placed on the top of the pillar, giving the birds the opportunity to profit from the sometimes still living body. This could continue for several days until the person died from painful shock or dehydration.

In France, some relaxations in execution were provided when the convict was strangled before the execution.

The convict was stripped naked and placed in a vat of boiling liquid (oil, acid, resin or lead), or in a container with cold liquid, which gradually warmed up. Criminals could be hung on a chain and immersed in boiling water until they died. During the reign of King Henry VIII, poisoners and counterfeiters were subjected to similar executions.

Flaying meant execution, during which all the skin was removed from the body of a criminal using a sharp knife, and it was supposed to remain intact for display for intimidation purposes. This execution dates back to ancient times. For example, the Apostle Bartholomew was crucified upside down on the cross, and his skin was torn off.

The Assyrians flayed their enemies to show who held power in the captured cities. Among the Aztecs in Mexico, ritual flaying or scalping was common, which was usually carried out after the death of the victim.

Although this method of execution has long been considered inhumane and prohibited, in Myanmar, a case of flaying all men in a Karenni village was recorded.

African necklace - a type of execution during which the victim was put on car tire, filled with gasoline or other flammable material, and then set on fire. This led to the human body turning into a molten mass. The death was extremely painful and a shocking sight. This type execution was common in South Africa in the 80s and 90s of the last century.

The African necklace was used against suspected criminals by "people's courts" established in black towns as a means of circumventing the apartheid judicial system (a policy of racial segregation). This method was used to punish members of the community who were considered employees of the regime, including black police officers, city officials, and their relatives and partners.

Similar executions were observed in Brazil, Haiti and Nigeria during Muslim protests.

Scaphism is an ancient Persian method of execution that results in painful death. The victim was stripped naked and tied tightly inside a narrow boat or a hollowed-out tree trunk, and covered on top with the same boat so that the arms, legs and head stuck out. The executed man was force-fed milk and honey to induce severe diarrhea. In addition, the body was also coated with honey. After this, the person was allowed to swim in a pond with stagnant water or left in the sun. Such a “container” attracted insects, which slowly devoured the flesh and laid larvae in it, which led to gangrene. In order to prolong the torment, the victim could be fed every day. Ultimately, death was likely due to a combination of dehydration, exhaustion, and septic shock.

According to Plutarch, by this method in 401 BC. e. Mithridates, who killed Cyrus the Younger, was executed. The unfortunate man died only 17 days later. A similar method was used by the indigenous people of America - the Indians. They tied the victim to a tree, rubbed it with oil and mud, and left it for the ants. Usually a person died from dehydration and starvation within a few days.

The person sentenced to this execution was hung upside down and sawed vertically in the middle of the body, starting from the groin. Since the body was upside down, the criminal's brain had constant influx blood, which, despite the large blood loss, allowed him for a long time stay conscious.

Similar executions were used in the Middle East, Europe and parts of Asia. It is believed that sawing was the favorite method of execution of the Roman Emperor Caligula. In the Asian version of this execution, the person was sawed from the head.

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Attitudes towards crimes and criminals in different eras and in different countries differed, so the severity of the punishment varied. But if a person was sentenced to execution, then it was very cruel. The most brutal executions in the history of mankind cause horror, since the condemned could die in terrible agony for weeks.

10 most brutal executions in the world

1. Chinese execution. Oddly enough, the executioners treated women with particular cruelty. One of the most terrible executions in history was practiced in China. The condemned woman was stripped naked and, deprived of support on her feet, saws were secured between her legs.

Execution "Sawing"

The woman's hands were tied to the ring. Under the influence of gravity, the victim fell down onto the cutting edges of the saws, so that her body was slowly sawed from the womb to the sternum. The reasons for such a terrible punishment are incomprehensible to us; for example, the rice prepared by the cook did not turn out to be as snow-white as the color of the owner’s wisdom required.

2. Quartering. In Russia, and throughout Europe, in India, China, Egypt, Persia and Rome, this execution implied tearing or dismembering the human body into several parts. The parts themselves were put on public display after the execution was completed. There are many options for dividing a criminal into parts - he was torn apart by horses, bulls, treetops. In some cases, an executioner was used to cut off the limbs.

Execution "Quartering"

Moreover, it is impossible to even identify for what type of crime such punishment was imposed. It was often used when it was necessary to make an execution spectacular. Therefore, deserters and members of their families, state criminals, rapists, Christians were quartered ancient Rome etc.

3. "Tin Soldier". Alcatraz prison has gone down in history as one of the most terrible prisons in the world due to its executions. The management of the correctional institution had an unhealthy imagination; it is simply impossible to explain the appearance of the “tin soldier” otherwise.

The convicted prisoner received an injection of heroin, after which he was doused with heated paraffin. At the same time, the guards put the person in a pose that was funny from their point of view. When the paraffin hardened, the person simply could not move anymore - the result was a “tin soldier”. After this, the guards cut off the prisoner's limbs. Death from shock and blood loss lasted for hours, which the executed person experienced in terrible agony.

4. “The Cradle of Judas.” Another no less cruel option for killing prisoners at Alcatraz is the “Cradle of Judas.” The person sentenced to execution was placed on a pyramid, with his hands and body fixed. The tip of the pyramid was placed in the anus or vagina, so that the structure gradually tore the body apart. To speed up the process, weights were attached to the condemned man's feet, increasing the pressure.

This slow and painful death from blood loss and sepsis took up to several days; with weights, the process was accelerated to several hours. The leadership of the famous prison borrowed this barbaric method from the medieval inquisitors.

5. Keeling. There was a separate set of executions for pirates, the worst of which was pitching. The person was tied up and pulled with a rope under the keel of the ship.

Execution "Kilevanie"

Since this lasted for a long time, the person had time to choke, not to mention the blows on the keel itself, covered with sharp shellfish - the skin was torn off from the person. However, this type of punishment for disobedience to the captain, who had absolute power on the ship, was also practiced in the English fleet.

6. Deserted island. Another pirate execution option known throughout the world - the rebels were not killed, but were landed on a desert island that would feed the criminals.

Many unlucky rebels were left for years to eke out a miserable existence on a piece of land without normal food or amenities.

7. Walking on a plank. This type of execution among pirates is described in adventure novels.

Execution "Walking on the Plank"

The crew of the captured ship was not needed by the robbers, so they set off to sea. The board was placed over the side of the ship, so that a person, having walked along it, fell into the sea in the mouth of waiting sharks.

8. Execution for treason. In many cultures, the punishment for adultery for a woman is death. Methods of execution vary. In Turkey, an adulteress was sewn into a bag with a cat and the bag was beaten. The maddened animal tore the woman apart, and the convict died from blood loss and beatings.

In Korea, the adulteress was forced to drink vinegar, and then the adulteress's swollen body was beaten with sticks until the fairer sex died.

9. ISIS executions. The types of punishments adopted by ISIS (an organization banned on the territory of the Russian Federation) are also classified as cruel, but they do not occupy the first place in the TOP 10 list terrible executions.

Representatives of the group willingly distribute in the media photos and videos of executions by burning and beheading, which is not much different from the medieval set of tortures and executions.

10. Executions for rape. Executions for rape are often much less brutal than for adultery, especially for the fairer sex. However, the death of a rapist was threatened not only in the Middle Ages; this is still true today in Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, and Sudan.

However, Muslim tort law sometimes causes strange decisions. There are precedents when, after rape, a girl is executed by stoning, because the victim allegedly seduced the rapist. In other countries, for crimes of a sexual nature, the offender is punished with imprisonment for a term of 1 year to life imprisonment.

During the Soviet era, rape committed by a repeat offender, rape resulting in grave consequences, or rape of a minor victim was punishable death penalty. This law was in force until 1997. By the way, a similar measure for the rape of a child in the US state of Louisiana was abolished only in 2008.