| | '''Hanging''' is the suspension of a person by the [[neck]] by a looped [[rope]] or other cord. It is a common form of [[capital punishment|execution]] throughout history, as well as a common means of [[suicide]]. | | '''Hanging''' is the suspension of a person by the [[neck]] by a looped [[rope]] or other cord. It is a common form of [[capital punishment|execution]] throughout history, as well as a common means of [[suicide]]. |
| − | Although it is still used in some countries, in the [[United States]], it has declined in use throughout the 20th century after other means of execution, such as the electric chair, gas chamber, and more recently, [[lethal injection]], became more prevalent. The last person to be legally hanged in the United States was Billy Bailey in [[Delaware]] in 1996, and he will almost certainly be the last. However, in 1994, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that hanging did not violate the [[Eighth Amendment]]. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9801E3DE1438F93AA35751C0A962958260] | + | Although it is still used in some countries, in the [[United States]], it has declined in use throughout the 20th century after other means of execution, such as the [[electric chair]], [[gas chamber]], and more recently, [[lethal injection]], became more prevalent. The last person to be legally hanged in the United States was Billy Bailey in [[Delaware]] in 1996, and he will almost certainly be the last. However, in 1994, the [[United States Court of Appeals]] for the [[Ninth Circuit]] held that hanging did not violate the [[Eighth Amendment]]. <ref>http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9801E3DE1438F93AA35751C0A962958260</ref> |