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All those who are stoned are subsequently hung – these are the words of Rabbi Eliezer, but the Sages say, "Only the blasphemer and the idolater are hung after stoning."
A man is hung facing the people, and a woman is hung facing the gallows – these are the words of Rabbi Eliezer, but the Sages say, "Only a man is hung; a woman is not hung at all."
How do they hang a man? They sink a post vertically into the ground, and a beam protrudes from it. The hangman brings together two hands of the corpse, one upon the other, and hangs him by his hands from the beam. Rabbi Yose says, "The post is leaned on an angle against the wall, and he hangs him in the way that butchers do""
After he is hung, they untie him immediately, remove him from the gallows, and bury him.
Art: The Gallows by Pierre Luc Charles Ciceri
When the condemned person was 4 amot (about 6 feet) from the stoning grounds, they would remove his clothing, except for a piece of material to cover his genitals, so as not to prolong his agony by the cushioning effect of the clothes. A woman remains also covered from the back – so says Rabbi Yehudah, but the Sages maintain that a woman is not stoned naked; rather, she is dressed in a single plain garment.
The elevation of the stoning grounds was twice a man's height. One of the witnesses pushes the condemned man by his hips so that he falls on the side. If he dies from this fall, the court has fulfilled its obligation. If not, the second witness picks up a stone and casts it upon his chest. If he dies from this, it is sufficient; if not, all present throw rocks at him.
Art: Purtud, Alpine Scene and Boulders by John Singer Sargent
When Joshua inquired why Israel was defeated at the hands of Ai, God replied, "Israel has sinned" - they have taken the items from the ban. Joshua then said, "Master of the Universe, who is the individual who has sinned?" God replied, "Am I your talebearer? Go cast lots!"
The lot fell on Achan. Achan, however, told Joshua, "A lot is no proof! It had to fall on somebody." "Please," begged Joshua, "acknowledge your guilt, and you will be spared. In the future, Israel is to be divided by casting lots. Please don't cast aspersions on it now." Achan confessed and was executed.
Joshua then hurled the booty in front of God and told him, "Because of this transgression, the great person, Yair ben Menasheh, who is comparable to the greater part of the Sanhedrin, had to die?" God told Joshua, "Your transgression is even worse. At night, when not fighting, you should not have neglected the Torah study." The next night, Joshua corrected this.
Art: A Philosopher in His Study by Abraham van der Hecke
The execution must be "outside the camp," but how far outside? Should we compare it to the law of bulls brought for communal error, about which it is also stated "outside the camp," and there it means outside the farthest of the three camps, or to forbidden sacrifice "outside the camp," where "outside" means only outside one camp, the Temple proper?
There are four points of commonality between execution and the law of bulls: removal, outside the camp, preparation (both prepare for something), and atonement (both atone). There are also four points of commonality with the forbidden sacrifices: they apply to a person, a sinner, a life being taken, and sacrificial disqualification does not apply.
However, we should rather compare those laws that prepare for something, thus execution is compared to the law of bulls, and the place of execution is removed three camps from the courthouse.
Art: Arab Encampment in the Atlas Mountains by Eugene Fromentin
Once a verdict has been reached and the defendant is pronounced guilty, they take him out to stone him. The stoning place was located outside the courthouse. A court that sentences even one person in seven years is called a “destroyer,” and it would have been aggravated if the execution happened nearby.
While the condemned is being escorted to the execution grounds, one man stands at the courthouse door with a flag in his hand, and another sits astride a horse at a distance. If someone says, “I have grounds to argue for his acquittal,” the flagman waves the flags, and the horse with its rider races to the execution party and halts it. Even if the condemned himself says, “I have grounds for my own acquittal,” they return him to the courthouse to hear his arguments, even four or five times, as long as there is substance to his words.
Art: Rue Mosnier with Flags by Edouard Manet
The judges asked the witnesses specific questions about the murder: "Did you recognize the victim?" "Did you warn the murderer?" - The witnesses are asked if the accused acknowledged in their presence that he was forbidden to do the action he was performing.
"Did he accept the warning upon himself?" - The offender must be apprised of the particular form of execution he will suffer if he commits the prohibited act. Furthermore, he is not executed unless he declares that he plans to do the action, even though he knows that doing so will result in his execution.
"Did he kill within as much time as needed to say a greeting of peace to one's teacher?" - If he commits the offense after this period has elapsed, he avoids punishment since, perhaps in the interim, he has forgotten the warning.
Art: The Execution of the Emperor Maximilian by Edouard Manet
They would examine the witnesses with seven questions related to the time and place of the incident: which seven-year period did you see the crime, which year, which month, which day of the month, which day of the week, which hour, and in which place. The primary purpose of these questions is to pinpoint the time and place and allow the possibility of making them disqualified (false) witnesses. In fact, if there is no possibility for the witnesses to be disqualified, their testimony is not accepted.
Then they would ask specific questions: "Did you recognize the victim?” and “Did you warn the accused?” In cases of idol worship, they asked, “What idol did he worship, and how did he worship it?” Whoever increases the number of supplementary questions is praiseworthy. It once happened that Ben Zakkai examined the witnesses concerning the stems of the figs on the fig tree under which the murder allegedly occurred.
Art: St. Lucy Before the Judge by Lorenzo Lotto
