Most horrific executions in history.

tbh I think anyone who abolishes punishment and suffering should be praised regardless of their background etc,

even though the prison system costs us, I'd rather that than have someones pain and suffering and inevitable death on my hands/concience

not to mention some people actualy attone and reform themselves , not that it makes their crimes ok but I believe most people deserve a second chance.

No need to quote it each time!

You're probably right, but it's nice to include some more examples to expand the thread.

The quotes were different. I agree it is good to expand.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazen_bull gets my vote.

One gets placed into a brass metal model of a bull, which is then heated up with a flame underneath until the person burns to death.

Either that or pretty much anything the Japanese did in their experimentation camps.

To add some variety I think that crucifixions sound awful. It's not just the pain of being nailed to the cross but you're subject to the whims of the crowd, apparently some people were mutilated or had limbs broken and it took from a few hours to several days if you were unlucky. Never heard of the scaphism one before, that's pretty brutal.

The murder of Emmet Till. I remember watching a documentary on it during class, I actually cried..

Edit: Oops, I was just giving an irrelevant example of a death during the US Civil Rights during the 50s/60s

In my opinon

1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scaphism

2) Burned alive.

3) Immurement. This is being imprisoned and left to starve to death.

4) Being buried alive.

Yes, the public humilation element is disturbing. Really I think what these punishments reveal is that the veneer of civilisation around most people is often very superficial.

I just read scaphism and my god...

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Indeed, some people can really be sadistic. Fortunate that these disgusting practices are gradually dying out and for those that believe in capital punishment we're moving towards executions that are [hopefully] painless and quick. Maybe the rest of them like stoning will soon go too, or is that just being too optimistic?

There was a Discovery series called 'Machines of Malice', although in the UK it aired as 'Death Machines', which covered all the 'best' methods from history. It's a pretty interesting watch.

There are lots of clips on Youtube. Search 'Machines of Malice'

I think stoning will only go when the archaic religious laws that hold it up die out. There are many good things about some religions but farcical supersitions such as that are not . As for most executions in many Western nations, yes are relatively but certainly not completely painless.

I was under the impression that an anaesthetic was used prior to a lethal injection, although maybe that doesn't eliminate all pain? I'm still opposed to capital punishment regardless

Pyschological pain perhaps?

Oh I see what you mean know, yeah. The knowledge that you're going to be executed must be one of the most distressing feelings, and it goes on for years for some people on death row.