"The Executed"

BY: Julian Anderson

A person can be legally sentenced to death via capital pun-

ishment.

In the 18th century the practice of hanging became a widely

used method. Many types of hanging methods were devised

over the years. It began with the method called the short

drop. The convicted would have a noose tied around their

neck while being made to stand on a stool. Then the stool

would be removed, usually kicked away, causing strangulation

and death.

As scientific research helped advance societies comforts, it

also advanced the methods of capital punishment. Thus, the

standard drop was created. The drop of between four and six

feet induced strangulation, the breaking of the neck, and

more often than desired, decapitation

.

To avoid messy decapitations the long drop was conceived.

This method utilized the strength, height and weight of the

convicted to determine the length of the drop, which was be-

tween four and ten feet.

Hanging causes closure of the carotid arteries and jugular

veins, bringing on carotid reflex and cardiac arrest, resulting in

death. Many governments in the 20th century abolished

hangings as a capital punishment, however; some countries

still use this method of capital punishment today.

***

In the air of a richly made kitchen the smells of butter, eggs,

and coffee drift lazily.

The kitchen is beautifully furnished with stainless steel ap-

pliances, mahogany cupboards and an old grandfather clock.

An old man sits and sips his morning coffee. “Now look here

mother. They hung another boy,” he says to his wife slowly

sipping his morning coffee. His wife stands in front of the

stove cooking eggs; she is up in years but still has long black

hair. She turns to him and says “Oh dear, there are too many

of those little boy gangs. What happened to their parents?”

The old man begins reading from the newspaper again, “It

says here that the boy gangs are on the rise. They are all or-

phans of between 6-10 years of age. They roam the streets in

large packs of anywhere from five to twenty. The government

officials are going to start tagging them with microchips. This

will keep the boys out of specific areas. Many of the boys re-

fuse to go to group homes or shelters. Most of them rely on

theft to survive.”

***

The day was shining bright like a bird’s feather. The metrop-

olis was at lunch. Cars and buses idled and moved through the

streets. People came and went, and garbage flew by large

gusts of wind.

Massive glass and steel skyscrapers lined the endless

streets. Government and institution buildings loomed at

marked places between them. The market place boomed with

business, while the sun stood sentry.

Three boys steal glances at the busy market place from a

dirty alleyway.

“Ok guys, I am going first!” a skinny little boy exclaims.”

“Nah, French I’m a going!” a natty haired boy cries.

“Ha who you kidding man. Scotty you ain’t man enough!,

the third boy exclaims.

“Shut up both of you! Listen here I m the oldest, so Scotty

and Frances I go first!” replies French

A huge gust of wind ripped through the alley blowing the lid

off an aluminum garbage bin wiping up old scrapes of paper. A

ragged alley cat climbed out and stared at the boys.

Without warning French shoved both Scotty and Frances

aside and ran full speed out of the alley and into the throng of

people. The two boys regained their balance and shook their

heads at each other.

The ragged alley cat sauntered over to them and began to

meow.

“Man he’s pushy!” exclaimed Frances.

“Still, French is a good guy eh?” asks Scotty.

“Yup he’s alright.” says Frances.

The ragged cat started to purr and rub itself on Frances.

“Get gone you filthy little rascal!”, Frances cried out while he

kicked the cat away. The cat let out a helpless meow and ran

back to the garbage bin.

“Here he comes”, yells Scotty.

French came running up to them. He pulled out a bright red

McIntosh and took a bite.

“So you guys wanna join me gang”, he proudly declares. The

other two looked at each other, looked at French, and began

laughing and cheering.

“Man I tried to get Empires but they all the way at the back

of the cart”, said French.

“What will you call the gang?” Frances asked.

“Hmm not sure yet, so, who’s next?” asked French. The

two boys look at each other. Scotty smiled, shoved Frances

and took off like an out of the park grand slam.

“Damn that Scotty” said Frances as he straightened his

shirt.

French started laughing again. “…I think…haha…I will call it

the 7th and 36th crew.”

“Yup the 736 crew. Sounds good Frances.”, replied French.

“After we all get our apples we should steal some knives.”

says French.

Sun breaks through a cloud and illuminates the alleyway.

As the ragged cat scrambles back into the garbage bin it

knocks it over. A meowing sound, accompanied by the crash-

ing of the bins, echoes through the alley.

Out of breath and sweating, Scotty returns to the alley.

Doubled over and huffing and puffing he reaches into his

pocket and reveals a green Granny Smith. He sits down on

the ground and begins eating. He looks up at them and

smiles. They all erupt in another salvo of laughter.

The ragged cat licks at an old paper coffee cup. Frances

pulls up his shorts and takes a deep breath. He looks out into

the crowded market place, shoves French and runs out of the

alley. Running full tilt, he zigs and zags like an alpine skier on

an Olympic gold metal run. He weaves through the shoppers

zigging by a businessman and zagging behind a youthful cou-

ple in love.

As Frances reaches the apple vendor, he pauses and looks

about himself. The shop vendor is nowhere in site.

An old Chinese women stands in front of the cart pressing

and handling the apples. Frances eyes up the delicious apples

and spots the Empires. He sneaks over to the cart and quickly

pockets three, then turns and runs straight into the shop ven-

dor. The vendor holds onto him tightly and begins to shout in

an angry foreign tongue.

***

The old man puts down the newspaper and sips his coffee.

He stands up and walks to the stove to refill his cup. His wife

turns off the burner and sits down at the table. She salts and

peppers her eggs and grabs the newspaper.

“Oh my, it says here that the shop vendor cut off the boy’s

thumbs before handing him over to the police!” She ex-

claimed while she shook her head. “Over two thousand peo-

ple watched the execution. They said it’s a record, and the

last four out of six executions were boys. I can’t believe so

many people went in such unsavory weather.”

***

It rained all day but that did not deter the execution.

Early in the morning, work to set up the gallows began. The

population only knew about the hangings on the day of. The

word spread fast as the preliminary work to set up the gal-

lows began.

The square is located in the center of the city, residing right

next to the market place.

Crime rates drop off slightly, both before and after the

hangings.

Many criminals and gang bangers cool off from their antics

in order to see if they know the person being executed. Along

with the criminals and gang bangers there were many types

of people.

Parents brought their children to teach them about the

benefits of not turning to crime. Teenagers skipped classes to

watch the execution, and lots of random business and con-

sumer types gathered around the gallows. The media was

out in full attendance all set up and waiting to go.

After the lunch break the gallows were fully awaiting the

convicted.

French and Scotty, along with some other boys, sat on gar-

bage cans not to far from the front.

“Naw bad eh French?” said Scotty.

“Yup these are great seats, better than the last time,” said

French.

The murmur and buzz of the crowd circled around them.

Some people made a last attempt to get closer to the gal-

lows. The crowd began to squeeze together in anticipation of

the execution. Rain fell on their umbrellas and on the heads

of those who forgot.

The media turned on the cameras and began filming.

“There he is French!” said Scotty while he pointed his fin-

ger.

Frances stood on the gallows with his hands behind his

back. Several executioners flanked his sides. A man wearing a

dark suit began speaking into a microphone. He provided the

crowd with details on the criminal and the crime that he

committed.

The crowd began to heckle the convict.

Some yelled out profanities, while others yelled “let’s here

him!” Suddenly all in the crowd began to chant, “let’s here

him, let’s here him!” The man in the dark suit walked over to

Frances and handed him the microphone. The crowd calmed

and waited for him to talk.

Frances began his final speech.

“My name is Frances. I have no last name. I have no family.

I take full responsibility for my actions and feel no remorse for

my crime.”

This made the crowd right mad and they began to curse at

him.

“Filthy little rascal!” one voice cried out.

“Hang him!”, exclaimed the voice of another.

The crowd followed suit and chanted. “Hang him, hang

him!”

An executioner stepped up to Frances and placed the black

hood on his head. The man in the dark suit climbed down the

steps and left the gallows to the executioners and the execut-

ed.

***

The old man sipped his coffee and looked at his wife while

she finished reading the article. She looked up at him and

said, “Thank god we never had kids!” The old man put down

his coffee and walked over to his wife, kissed her and sat

down. “Wasn’t Rome beautiful?”