Execution (legal) - Definition

For other uses, see execution

Execution is the act of putting a person to death, with or without judicial process (for cases under judicial process, see capital punishment). Military executions are typically by firing squad (for violations of orders in wartime or the laws of war) or by hanging (typically for cowardice, or commission of atrocities or other crimes).

Execution through history

• From 600 BC through the 20th Century crucifixion has been used as a method of execution.
• The headman's axe was used in Germany and England in the 16th and 17th Centuries.
• The French Revolution is famous for its pioneering of the guillotine.

Related topics

• capital punishment
  • Use of death penalty worldwide
  • List of people who were executed
  • List of executioners
• posthumous execution
• human sacrifice
• murder
• execution warrant
• laws of war
• electric chair

Books

• Geoffrey Abbott - Execution: A Guide to Ultimate Penalty (2004)

External links

• Account of an execution (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/2365751.stm)
• FULL execution Tapes (http://www.soundportraits.org/on-air/execution_tapes/)