Decapitation Decapitation Iraqi National Accord Category="Death penalty"[image]

Decapitation, or beheading, is the removal of a living organism's head, inevitably resulting in Death. Beheading typically refers to the act of intentional decapitation, e.g., as a means of Murder or Execution; it may be accomplished, for example, with an Axe, Sword, or Knife, or by means of a Guillotine. Accidental decapitation can be the result of an Explosion, automobile or industrial accident or other violent injury. Suicide by decapitation is rare, but not unknown. In 2003 a British man killed himself by means of a home-made Guillotine, constructed over a period of several weeks.

Separation of the head from the rest of the human body results in Death: there is heavy bleeding from both the head and decapitated body, causing a massive drop in blood pressure and rapid loss of consciousness followed quickly by Brain death. Even if the bleeding were stopped, the lack of circulation to supply Oxygen to the Brain would rapidly lead to Brain death. No known Medical emergency treatment can save a decapitated patient. In theory, connecting a Cardiac pump to a severed head might keep it alive, but this is not known to have ever been tried in practice. However, head transplants have been carried out successfully in monkeys (see Robert J. White); the first stage of such a transplant, of course, is a surgical decapitation (in which, however, great care is taken to maintain the blood supply by means of Catheterization). Thus, survival of a head separated from its body is not an inherent impossibility.

An even more gruesome issue is whether a decapitated head retains Consciousness after separation from the body. The issue has been debated many times, especially in the context of whether beheading is or is not a humane form of Execution (see below). No definitive answer has ever emerged. Many have argued that loss of consciousness would be virtually instantaneous, either as a result of the massive drop in cerebral blood pressure, or because of the impact of the severing implement. Nevertheless, anecdotal evidence, of varying degrees of credibility, has circulated for centuries that severed heads may, under some circumstances, retain consciousness for at least a few seconds.

The body of a decapitated chicken was once known to live for an additional 18 months. See Mike the Headless Chicken.

The word decapitation can also refer, on occasion, to the removal of the head of someone who is already dead, i.e., to a corpse. This would have probably made the most sense for the purpose of displaying the head to prove the fact of the individual's death or to instill fear in the populace by illustrating the likely fate of an enemy of the authorities.

Decapitation throughout history

Decapitation has been used as a form of Capital punishment for millennia. The terms capital offence, capital crime, and capital punishment derive from the punishment for serious offences being the removal of their head (from Latin, caput, capitis, meaning head). Political prisoners (labelled traitors) and serious criminals often had their heads removed and placed on public display for a period of time. For instance, in medieval England, the heads were placed on spikes along the walls of the Tower of London. On the other hand, Execution by beheading with a sword (or axe, a military weapon as well) was considered the "honourable" way to die for an aristocrat, who, presumably being a warrior, could generally expect to die by the sword in any event; in England for example, it was a privilege of noblemen to be beheaded. This would be distinguished from a "dishonourable" death on the Gallows or through burning at the stake.

If the headsman's Axe or Sword was sharp and his aim was true, decapitation was a quick and relatively Painless form of death. If the instrument was blunt or the execution clumsy, however, multiple strokes might be required to sever the head, which presumably was considerably more painful. The person to be executed was therefore advised to give a Gold coin to the headsman so that he did his job with care.

Decapitation was also the highest form of punishment. One of the most brutal forms of decapitation was that of a Samurai, Ishida Mitsunari, who had betrayed Tokugawa Ieyasu. He was buried in the ground and his head was sawed off with a blunt wooden saw. This punishment was abolished in the early Meiji era.

Decapitation in the modern world

The use of decapitation has been discontinued in many parts of the world in part because of suspicion that the severed head may in certain cases continue to be alive to some extent and capable of feeling Pain. Some evidence for this was gathered by studying the presence of death-related chemicals in the brains of beheaded animals. There have also been many apocryphal stories from France about the severed heads of guillotined persons that would change facial expression or move their lips. Certainly another major reason for the end of the practice of beheading is the violent and messy nature of the practice.

Decapitation by sword has in modern times occurred in jurisdictions subject to Islamic Sharia, and by militant Islamists during the US-led invasion of Iraq. As of 2005, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Iran and Qatar had laws allowing decapitation but only Saudi Arabia was known to practice the sentence.

Less orthodox instances of decapitation have also occurred in recent times in some areas of Colombia. Right wing paramilitary groups such as the AUC have sometimes used this method to intimidate local populations and it has not been uncommon for their Left wing guerrilla enemies in the FARC as well as criminal gangs of druglords to also make limited use of decapitation on occasion. The primary means of decapitation in these cases has been the use of Machete or Chainsaw.

Terrorist group Abu Sayyaf is known to practice beheading in The Philippines.

Chechen rebels were known to practice beheading against the captured Russian Army soldiers during the First Chechen War. Four Western telecommunication workers (three Britons and a New Zealander) who were taken hostages for ransom in Chechnya in 1998 were eventually beheaded and their heads found by the side of the road .

Beheading by Islamic Militants

After the 2003 Invasion of Iraq and during both the U.S. led occupation of Iraq and the War on Terror, some foreigners have been kidnapped by Islamic extremists and used for pressing the United States and the rest of the countries of the coalition to release prisoners or remove their troops from the country. In many cases the kidnappers have also seized other Muslims as hostages, especially non-Arabs and Shia Muslims. The kidnappers threaten to behead the victims if their demands are not met. Where the kidnappers have not succeeded the beheading has sometimes been videotaped and the tape sent to the media, who however did not broadcast the actual beheadings. The executioners frequently use a knife or Hacksaw rather than a quicker method such as Axe or Guillotine.After reading a sometimes lengthly script defaming infidels and Americans one militant produces a knife,and while the others hold the victim down the killer begins cutting through the neck. Shouts of "God is Greatest" from the militants and the loud screams from the victim is what is heard.The decapitation typically takes sixty seconds, although in the case of Nick Berg several minutes. The killers sometimes flash the head in front of the camera and then set it onto the decapitated body as a way of showing that the person died. In July 1995 the Kashmiri islamist group al-Faran kidnapped five Western tourists in Kashmir because India's Government refused to release guerillas who were held in prison. One of them was later found beheaded.dd

Some famous persons who have been beheaded

Biblical

Islam

China

England

French Revolution

Italy

Mythological

Scotland

Nazi Germany

Modern era

It is often stated that actress Jayne Mansfield was decapitated in the automobile accident that took her life in 1967, but this is untrue.

Iraq Insurgency Decapitation Victims

Other meanings of the word

External links