This is Edith Thompson, who was executed in Holloway Prison, London in 1923. Thompson was executed by long drop hanging (quick neck break) as was the method in the UK. Unfortunately for Thompson, the hanging may have been botched, and it appears she strangled slowly to death on the rope. In her death throes, as well as voiding her bowels and bladder, she bled profusely out her vagina because of internal haemorrhaging (not uncommon for women who get short drop or strangulation hangings). Because of the mess in Thompson's hanging, from 1923 condemned women in UK or UK administered hangings were required to wear thick canvas underwear on the day of their execution to catch any blood or excrement. Men as far as I'm aware did not wear special underwear - just women. The UK abolished the death penalty in the 1960s.
As to other countries, it probably depends (or depended) on the country and its processes around executions, and the method of execution. For example, in Communist era Czechslovakia (where the execution method was short drop strangulation hanging, so a usually messy one in respect of bodily fluids), prisoners were hung naked until 1966 to save them soiling their prison uniform. The execution cell was then just hosed down and disinfected to wash away the excrement and blood etc. The last prisoner hung naked was 43 year old double murderer Irena Curbirkova - apparently the policy changed because the Czech prosecutor who witnessed her hanging (and read out the confirmation of her sentence immediately before) thought it was ridiculous and humiliating to do that to a portly, naked middle aged woman.
Cubirkova at her trial for murder in 1965.
The last woman hung in Czechslovakia was 23 year old mass murder Olga Hepnarova in 1975 (mug shot below). She was hung in her prison uniform, but seems to have not been wearing a diaper, as she panicked whilst being led to the execution cell, and defecated in fear. The hangman ended up both covered in her excrement and vomit as he bound her for her hanging. She also suffered vaginal haemorrhaging as she hung. The Czech hangman was apparently so disgusted with the hanging he resigned his post afterwards, saying the execution of Hepnarova made him despise his job.
Executing someone is an inevitably messy and horrific thing. Continue reading
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