Executioner. That one word is enough to strike fear in the hearts of even the most hardened of convicts. Although those on the receiving end of capital punishment usually get the bigger share of public attention, the men and women behind the gallows deserve just as much scrutiny. Without further delay, let’s get to know the stories of some of the most intriguing executioners in history, those whose lives are sometimes more interesting than the ones they took Louis Congo, a freed black man, became Louisiana’s official executioner in 1725 and served in that capacity for a dozen years. As the only one in the colony officially sanctioned to conduct executions and torture, Congo delivered punishments such as hanging, chopping off body parts, whipping, and the breaking wheel. In one case, he broke eight slaves on the wheel; in another, he whipped a Frenchman who was accused of assaulting a man with a knife. The color of the condemned did not matter to Congo—he administered punishment to white, brown, and black men with equal intensity. You might think being the sole executioner granted Congo a prestigious role in Louisiana society. Actually, he was pretty much a pariah, as the French considered the job to be lowly and insulting. Being ostracized, Congo had to live at the outskirts of town, which made him very vulnerable. In fact, Congo endured being assaulted twice in his home by slaves angry at his involvement with the colonial authorities. Ever had days when you feel like quitting your job? Then you should probably listen to Hajj Abd Al-Nabi and let his love for his position as Egypt’s official executioner rub off on you. As a young child, Hajj was a self-described “little Satan,” often strangling cats and dogs as a hobby. His parents told him such tendencies could send him to hell, but that penchant for killing served him well when he sought the office of executioner. His new bosses just had one special request for him: Grow a mustache. Hajj complied at first, but he soon found that “executing comes from the heart, not the mustache”—and luckily for him, he had a heart of stone. Hajj says he has personally conducted 800 executions. He loves his job so much that years from now he would leave retirement in a heartbeat for duty if the occasion called for it. listverse/2014/03/06/10-extremely-bloody-executioners-from-history/
Posted on: Thu, 18 Dec 2014 06:46:00 +0000