Official Table of Drops
{{short description|British table for the calculation of the length of rope to use in long-drop hangings}}
The Official Table of Drops, formerly issued by the British Home Office, is a manual which is used to calculate the appropriate length of rope for long drop hangings.
Following a series of failed hangings, including those of John Babbacombe Lee, a committee chaired by Henry Bruce, 1st Baron Aberdare was formed in 1886 to discover and report on the most effective manner of hanging. The committee's report was printed in 1888 and recommended a drop energy of {{convert|1260|ftlbf}}. In April 1892, the Home Office revised this based on an energy of {{convert|840|ftlbf}}. In practice, however, the hangmen ignored this table and used considerably longer drops. A significantly revised edition of the Table of Drops was published in October 1913, allowing {{convert|1000|ftlbf}} of drop energy – and then from 1939 executioners routinely added nine more inches ({{convert|9|in|cm|disp=output only}}) to the drop in the 1913 Table.{{cn|date=January 2019}}
The Table continued to be used in the United Kingdom until the country suspended capital punishment in 1965, and the UK abolished the death penalty altogether in 1998. The Table remains in use in former British colonies that have retained capital punishment by hanging, such as Singapore.[http://www.capitalpunishmentuk.org/hanging2.html The process of judicial hanging] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110815031405/http://www.capitalpunishmentuk.org/hanging2.html |date=2011-08-15 }}
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" | |||||
| colspan=3 | Body weight
! colspan=2 | 1888 drop ! colspan=2 | 1892 drop ! colspan=2 | 1913 drop | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stone | lb | kg
! ft | cm
! ft | cm
! ft | cm |
| 14.0 | 196 | 89
| 6′5" | 196
| 4'{{frac|3|1|2}}" | 131
| 5′1" | 155 |
| 13.5 | 189 | 86
| 6′8" | 203
| 4'5" | 135
| 5′{{frac|3|1|2}}" | 161 |
| 13.0 | 182 | {{frac|82|1|2}}
| 6′11" | 211
| 4'7" | 140
| 5′6" | 168 |
| 12.5 | 175 | 79¼
| 7′3" | 221
| 4'{{frac|9|1|2}}" | 146
| 5′{{frac|8|1|2}}" | 174 |
| 12.0 | 168 | 76¼
| 7′6" | 229
| 5'0" | 152
| 5′{{frac|11|1|2}}" | 182 |
| 11.5 | 161 | 73
| 7′10" | 239
| 5'{{frac|2|1|2}}" | 159
| 6′{{frac|2|1|2}}" | 189 |
| 11.0 | 154 | 70
| 8′2" | 249
| 5'5" | 165
| 6′6" | 198 |
| 10.5 | 147 | {{frac|66|2|3}}
| 8′7" | 262
| 5'{{frac|8|1|2}}" | 174
| 6′{{frac|9|1|2}}" | 207 |
| 10.0 | 140 | {{frac|63|1|2}}
| 9′0" | 274
| 6'0" | 183
| 7′2" | 218 |
| 9.5 | 133 | 60¼
| 9′3" | 282
| 6'{{frac|3|1|2}}" | 192
| 7′6" | 229 |
| 9.0 | 126 | 57
| 9′6" | 293
| 6'8" | 203
| 7′11" | 241 |
| 8.5 | 119 | 54
| 9′9" | 297
| 7'{{frac|0|1|2}}" | 215
| 8′5" | 257 |
| 8.0 | 112 | 51
| 10′0" | 305
| 7'6" | 229
| 8′6" | 259 |
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" | ||||
| colspan=1 |weight of prisoner{{cite web | url=https://www.capitalpunishmentuk.org/hanging2.html#causes | title=Hanged by the neck until dead. The process of judicial hanging }}
! colspan=1 | 1892 drop (ft & inches) ! colspan=1 | Ft.lbs energy developed ! colspan=1 | 1913 drop (feet & inches) ! colspan=1 | Ft.lbs energy developed | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 105 and under | 8'0" | 840| | ||
| 110 | 7'10" | 862| | ||
| 115 | 7'3" | 834 | 8'6" | 1003 |
| 120 | 7'0" | 840 | 8'4" | 1000 |
| 125 | 6'9" | 844 | 8'0" | 1000 |
| 130 | 6'5" | 834 | 7'8" | 996 |
| 135 | 6'2" | 833 | 7'5" | 1001 |
| 140 | 6'0" | 840 | 7'2" | 1003 |
| 145 | 5'9" | 834 | 6'11" | 1003 |
| 150 | 5'7" | 838 | 6'8" | 999 |
| 155 | 5'5" | 840 | 6'5" | 995 |
| 160 | 5'3" | 853 | 6'3" | 1000 |
| 165 | 5'1" | 839 | 6'1" | 1004 |
| 170 | 4'11" | 836 | 5'10" | 992 |
| 175 | 4'9" | 831 | 5'8" | 991 |
| 180 | 4'8" | 839 | 5'7" | 1005 |
| 185 | 4'7" | 848 | 5'5" | 1002 |
| 190 | 4'5" | 839 | 5'3" | 993 |
| 195 | 4'4" | 844 | 5'2" | 1008 |
| 200 and over | 4'2" | 833 | 5'0" | 1008 |
Other published drop tables
- 1947 US "Procedure for Military Executions" handbook.{{cite web |title=Procedure For Military Executions |website=Library of Congress |date=December 1947 |url=http://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/Military_Law/pdf/procedure_dec-1947.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080301150830/http://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/Military_Law/pdf/procedure_dec-1947.pdf
|archive-date=1 March 2008 |url-status=dead}}
References
External links
- [http://www.capitalpunishmentuk.org/aberdare.html The Aberdare Committee]
- [http://www.capitalpunishmentuk.org/Aberdare%20Report.pdf Report of the Aberdare Committee]
- [http://www.capitalpunishmentuk.org/longdrop.html The evolution of long drop hanging 19th century]
- [http://www.capitalpunishmentuk.org/longdrop2.html The evolution of long drop hanging 20th century]
Category:Capital punishment in the United Kingdom
{{capital punishment}}