Half-hanging

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.

Half-hanging of United Irishmen by government forces in 1798.

During the Irish Rebellion of 1798 against British rule in Ireland, government forces, in particular the militia and yeomanry, frequently used half-hanging against suspected rebels. A prominent victim of half-hanging was Anne Devlin, the housekeeper of Robert Emmet.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Hanging
• Waterboarding
• John Smith (housebreaker), who earned the nickname Half-hanged Smith after surviving a sentence of hanging^[1]

References

1. Deary, Terry (2005). "Cool for Criminals". Loathsome London. Horrible Histories (1st ed.). London: Scholastic. p. 63. ISBN 9780439959001.