FYI&I: The English Pillory.
They should be using this in Iraq! Agree?
Rather like the lesser punishment called the stocks, the pillory consisted of hinged wooden boards that formed holes through which the head and/or various limbs were inserted; then the boards were locked together to secure the captive. Pillories were set up in marketplaces and crossroads to hold petty criminals. Often a placard detailing the crime was placed nearby; these punishments generally lasted only a few hours.
Time in the pillory was more dangerous than in the stocks, as the pillory forced the malfeasant to remain standing and exposed.
Re-enactment of punishment in pillory.
A criminal in the stocks would expect to be abused, but his life was not targeted. A prisoner in the pillory would be presumed to have committed a more serious crime and accordingly get a more angry crowd reaction. With hands trapped, he could not protect himself from anything thrown at him, either harmless items like rotten food or injurious ones, even heavy stones: blinding, permanent maiming or death could be the consequences. The criminal could also be sentenced to further punishments while in the pillory: humiliation by shaving of some or all of the hair, or regular corporal punishment(s), notably flagellation (the pillory serving as the whipping post), birching, caning or even permanent mutilation such as branding, or having an ear cut off.
en.wikipedia.org |
