In other words it is necessary that there should be a drop or fall, or at least the weight of the body, to produce the characteristics of hanging. The jerk of the fall or sudden dependence of the body upon the ligature causes a much greater constriction of the ligature on the neck, and in a different direction, than in strangulation; and also a much greater pressure on the blood-vessels and nerves of the neck.
Tidy divides hanging into three stages:
First stage: Partial stupor lasting thirty seconds to three minutes, according to the length of the drop, the weight of the body, and tightness of the constriction. The testimony seems to be uniform that there is no pain in this stage; indeed, that the feeling is rather one of pleasure.[821] The subjective symptoms described are an intense heat in the head, brilliant flashes of light in the eyes, deafening sounds in the ears, and a heavy numb feeling in the lungs. Sometimes there is a feeling of absence of weight. In many cases efforts to breathe are made for a time after the air-passages are closed. It is doubtful whether there are any voluptuous feelings, as has been suggested.
Chowne[822] reports the case of Hornshawor, “Monsieur Gouffé,” who was in the habit of hanging himself for exhibition. He fixed the noose with a knot that would not slip, sprang into it, the rope coming behind the lower jaw and the two sides passing up behind the ears. He would hang for ten to fifteen minutes, and in addition to his own weight would sustain one hundred and fifty pounds. Three times the rope slipped and he would have died but for the help of spectators. He described his sensations as follows: He lost his senses all at once. The instant the rope got in the wrong place he felt as if he could not get his breath, as if some great weight was at his feet; and could not move only to draw himself up; felt as if he wanted to loosen himself but never thought of his hands. He said: “You cannot move your arms or legs to save yourself; you cannot raise your arms; you cannot think.”
Taylor[823] mentions the case of Scott, the American diver, who was in the habit of making public exhibitions of hanging. The last time he hung for thirteen minutes, the spectators not suspecting that he had died. It is supposed that the ligature had slipped. Taylor also reports a case (from Dr. Elliott) of a boy, age 11, who, to frighten his parents, tied a knot in a handkerchief and put it around a knob and his neck in one continuous ligature. The pressure against the trachea was so effective that he became unconscious and died before he could relieve himself.
Second stage: The subject is unconscious and convulsions usually occur. The convulsed face, however, is a part of the general agitation and does not indicate pain. In judicial cases the face is covered with a cap. Sometimes there are no spasms. Urine, fæces, and semen may be discharged in any stage. Jaquemin, however, in forty-one cases of hanging, noted discharge of urine and fæces only twice. Semen has, however, been found in the urethra where none was ejected externally.[824]
Third stage: All is quiet except the beating of the heart. As a rule, the pulse may be felt for ten minutes.
Blankenship[825] reports an execution of a man by hanging. After the rope was adjusted the pulse was 121; first minute after drop, pulse 54; second minute 52; third 39; fourth 20; fifth 0; sixth 70; seventh 73; eighth 0; ninth 34; not perceptible afterward. Died from strangulation; neck not dislocated. The heart beat once in the nineteenth minute; from the ninth to the nineteenth, only two or three times. No priapism.
In judicial executions, however, the right auricle is found in action when the subject is taken down at the end of the usual period of suspension (see Case 89). Tardieu mentions a case where the heart was beating 80 to the minute one and one-half hours after supposed death. It is probable that in these cases the deprivation of air and compression of the vessels has not been complete. In such cases life may sometimes be restored. Cases are reported where restoration has been possible within a period of a half-hour of suspension; although the fatal period is usually five to eight minutes at most. If, however, the tissues and especially the spinal cord are injured, or the ligature has compressed below the larynx, the chance of recovery is very small, even if the body is cut down at once. According to Faure, animals experimented upon die in twelve to twenty minutes.
Many cases of “incomplete” hanging have been reported; where the feet touch the floor, or would do so if the subject should choose to have it so. Tardieu[826] collected 261 cases, in 168 of which the feet touched the ground, in 42 the subject was on his knees, in 29 the body was lying, in 29 sitting and in 3 squatting. Hackel,[827] in 67 cases of hanging, found it incomplete in 34 per cent.