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.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c9/Hanging.gif/150px-Hanging.gif)
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.