Decapitation

For the military strategy, see Decapitation strike. For decapitation in the context of voting, see decapitation strategy.
"Decapitated" redirects here. For the band, see Decapitated (band).

Decapitation
The Beheading of Saint Paul. Painting by Enrique Simonet in 1887, Málaga Cathedral
CausesDeliberate (executions, murder or homicide, suicide); unintended (accidents)
PrognosisInvariably fatal
Beheadings in an illumination from Froissart's Chronicles from the beginning of the 15th century – the execution of Guillaume Sans and his secretary in Bordeaux on the orders of Thomas Felton
Perseus using the severed head of Medusa to turn King Polydectes to stone
Depiction of an Ethiopian emperor executing people, 18th century

Decapitation is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood by way of severing through the jugular vein and common carotid artery, while all other organs are deprived of the involuntary functions that are needed for the body to function. The term beheading refers to the act of deliberately decapitating a person, either as a means of murder or as an execution; it may be performed with an axe, sword, or knife, or by mechanical means such as a guillotine. An executioner who carries out executions by beheading is sometimes called a headsman.[1] Accidental decapitation can be the result of an explosion,[2] a car or industrial accident, improperly administered execution by hanging or other violent injury. The national laws of Saudi Arabia and Yemen[3] permit beheading. Under Sharia, which exclusively applies to Muslims, beheading is also a legal punishment in Zamfara State, Nigeria.[4] In practice, Saudi Arabia is the only country that continues to behead its offenders regularly as a punishment for capital crimes. Cases of decapitation by suicidal hanging,[5] suicide by train decapitation[6][7] and by guillotine[8] are known.

Less commonly, decapitation can also refer to the removal of the head from a body that is already dead. This might be done to take the head as a trophy, as a secondary stage of an execution by hanging, for public display, to make the deceased more difficult to identify, for cryonics, or for other, more esoteric reasons.[9][10]

  1. ^ "Definition of HEADSMAN". Archived from the original on 29 July 2017. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  2. ^ "Blows Head Off with Dynamite?". The Rhinelander Daily News. 2 April 1937. p. 7. Archived from the original on 8 October 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2014 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. ^ "Republican Decree – By Law No. [13] For 1994 Concerning the Criminal Procedures" (PDF). 12 October 1994. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 May 2024. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  4. ^ "Sharia Criminal Procedure Code Law 2005, No. 6 of 2005" (PDF). 23 November 2005. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 October 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  5. ^ Tracqui, A.; Fonmartin, K.; Géraut, A.; Pennera, D.; Doray, S.; Ludes, B. (1 December 1998). "Suicidal hanging resulting in complete decapitation: a case report". International Journal of Legal Medicine. 112 (1): 55–57. doi:10.1007/s004140050199. ISSN 1437-1596. PMID 9932744. S2CID 7854416. Archived from the original on 20 August 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  6. ^ Dinkel, Andreas; Baumert, Jens; Erazo, Natalia; Ladwig, Karl-Heinz (January 2011). "Jumping, lying, wandering: Analysis of suicidal behaviour patterns in 1,004 suicidal acts on the German railway net". Journal of Psychiatric Research. 45 (1): 121–125. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2010.05.005. PMID 20541771.
  7. ^ De Giorgio, Fabio; Polacco, Matteo; Pascali, Vincenzo L.; Oliva, Antonio (October 2006). "Death Due to Railway-Related Suicidal Decapitation". Medicine, Science and the Law. 46 (4): 347–348. doi:10.1258/rsmmsl.46.4.347. ISSN 0025-8024. PMID 17191639. S2CID 41916384. Archived from the original on 8 June 2024. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  8. ^ "Guillotine death was suicide". BBC News. 24 April 2003. Archived from the original on 27 September 2008. Retrieved 26 September 2008.
  9. ^ Francis Larson. Severed: a history of heads lost and heads found Liveright, 2014.
  10. ^ Fabian, Ann (1 December 2014). "Losing our Heads (review of Larson's "Severed" Chronicle of Higher Education". Archived from the original on 28 July 2017. Retrieved 1 December 2014.