mass murder Execution of kneeling prisoners with a sledgehammer

Hangman brings criminal to gallows, places hood on head, priest prays.

In a public place in Constantinople at the corner of a bazaar, the executioner is seated upon a stone and is resting from his daily labors while eating a crust of bread. Suddenly there come running into the place a lot of Turkish men and women preceding some Turkish policemen, who drag along four prisoners in chains. The policemen shut up the four prisoners in the pillory. Their four heads stick up through the huge plank, which is provided with four openings. One of the policemen urges the executioner to decapitate the prisoners. He accordingly seizes a mighty sabre and cuts off by a single stroke the four heads, which roll upon the ground.

Details the history of the death sentence, featuring graphic scenes of executions from across the world. A shocking indictment against capital punishment. State-sponsored murder or justice. More than 26 million people have been executed since 1900. This documentary offers a rare insight into the rights and wrongs of the ultimate act of retribution. It chronicles its use in the 20th century and examines the tools of the executioner's grim trade. This film questions the so-called humane execution and in doing so indicts the mass-murderers of barbarous regimes. The images of death, drawn from around the world, are as shocking as they are tragic. But only by witnessing them and understanding their background can you hope to decide for yourself when, if ever, the death sentence is the punishment that fits the crime.