The executioner should calculate a specific length of rope that will ensure a forceful plunge from the gallows. The person should fall between 4 and 10 feet; leg weights may also be attached to compensate for a shorter gallows platform.
Assuming the rope is properly placed, the person's C-2 (and probably C-1) vertebra will instantly fracture. Simultaneously, his trachea, carotid artery and jugular veins will be crushed, ceasing blood and oxygen flow to the brain.
Death is expected to be “reasonably instantaneous,” according to Dr. Byron Bailey of the Medical University of South Carolina. Brain activity will halt completely within three to four minutes.
The heart may continue beating as its fibers contract for 10-12 minutes after the person's brain activity has stopped.
Any jerking or twitching of the body afterward is involuntary nerve and muscle activity, and does not mean the person is still alive. Hoods are often placed over a person's head so as not to show such movement on the face.
Originally published on December 30, 2006 New York Daily News
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