HEAD HEADSMAM
execution/ garrote

   I am the chief executioner for the country. All who die for breaking the law come to me and are killed by my assistant executioners or me. The law allows any method to be used to execute a felon and it is rare for the court to proscribe one. Just as it is rare for an execution to be carried out anywhere else than in these chambers. Both do happen though and we are ready to provide what ever services the court demands. I have killed using almost every method you have ever heard of and consider myself to be very good at my job. Unless directed otherwise I try to keep things simple and civilized, I do not allow torture or rape nor unnecessary force. My clients are paying for their transgressions with their lives and I feel that that in enough. We strive to end lives in a humane manner with as little stress as we can manage. I will describe a typical execution. This one was a young girl. I do all the females normally and the law allows the execution of any over the age of 10 but I digress.
    She is brought to me in the death chamber. I wait behind a table that has drinks and snacks on it. She sits in the chair across from me. They very seldom notice that it is bolted to the floor nor do they seem to care that it has a seat like a toilet. Made of heavy wood and heavily painted so as to be easy to clean it sits in a small depression in the tile floor. There is a large drain under it and we can flush off the chair and the floor easily. There is no preparation for the condemned other than stripping their clothes off and this is the usual practice whenever they are taken from their cells so that does not upset them. She is held in place by a wide belt that can not be loosened by the chair’s occupant but her hands and feet are free. I always welcome them as friends and stand as they are brought in. We will talk and I will offer drinks and snacks. They have no idea that I will be the last person they see. When they are relaxed I steel the talk around to their impending execution and ask their feelings about it. By now most of them have come to grips with the idea that they are going to die and can talk about it without panic. At the right time I tell them who I am  and most ask if I am going to kill them. I find that the truth is always the right thing and that most are relieved that their wait is over. Knowing is better than wondering if every day is your last. They will ask when and I tell them now. At this point things speed up. As I explain what will happen I gently strap the wrists to the chair arms. They are encouraged to pray if they wish and I will give truthful answers to any questions asked. Most want to know if it will hurt- if they sit quietly and allow me to work it will be all over very quickly and there will be little pain as they will pass out very  soon. Then they ask if they really must die or why do I have to kill them- I explain that they have broken the law and the law demands their death. Many times they wish to hold somebody’s hand so one of my assistants will do so for them. I move any long hair up and secure it under a hairnet before the thin cord of the garrote is passed around  her neck. By now she is crying but is facing her death bravely. I ask her to exhale or wait until she gives up trying to hold her breath before I tighten the cord. Although the garrote kills as much by stopping the blood supply to the brain as by strangulation I find things are over sooner and with less fuss if the lungs are empty. As the structures in the neck collapse under the pressure she will kick out and drum her heels on the floor. Her hands will fight for the freedom to reach her neck and she will buck against the belt. nothing she does will make the slightest bit of difference, her neck is unable to pass air to her lungs and the blood to her brain is cut off as I pull the wooden handles attached to the cord. She struggles for less than a minute but she is only aware for part of that time. She fight will end suddenly, she will just go limp in the chair. I will then make another loop around her neck and with the help of my assistant I will tie the cord tightly around her crushed neck. By the time I am done she will lose control of her sphincters and there will be the smell of sudden death. She will be left in the chair for one hour before being washed and removed. She will be buried in an unmarked grave with the death cord still tied around her neck. She will be forgotten by all except her loved ones.