Half-hanging is a method of torture, usually inflicted to force information from the victim, in which a rope is pulled tightly around the victim’s neck and then slackened when the victim becomes unconscious. The victim is revived and the process repeated.
During the Irish Rebellion of 1798 against British rule in Ireland, government forces,[1] in particular the militia[2] and yeomanry, frequently used half-hanging against suspected rebels. A prominent victim of half-hanging was Anne Devlin, the housekeeper of Robert Emmet.[3][4]
See also
edit- Hanging
- Waterboarding
- John Smith (housebreaker), who earned the nickname Half-hanged Smith after surviving a sentence of hanging[5]
References
edit- ^ Hay, Edward (1847). History of the Irish Insurrection of 1798,: Giving an Authentic Account of the Various Battles Fought Between the Insurgents and the King's Army, and a Genuine History of Transactions Preceding that Event. With a Valuable Appendix. John Kenedy. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
- ^ Pakenham, Thomas (1997). The year of liberty : the great Irish rebellion of 1798. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. p. 36. ISBN 978-0-297-82386-5. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
- ^ Madden, Richard Robert (1847). The Life and Times of Robert Emmet, Esq. 10, Wellington Quay, Dublin: James Duffy. p. 187. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) - ^ Ward, James (11 November 2018). Memory and Enlightenment: Cultural Afterlives of the Long Eighteenth Century. Springer. p. 168. ISBN 978-3-319-96710-3. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
- ^ Deary, Terry (2005). "Cool for Criminals". Loathsome London. Horrible Histories (1st ed.). London: Scholastic. p. 63. ISBN 9780439959001.