Peine forte et dure
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Featured:  Illustration: Portrait fantaisiste du marquis de Sade (1866) by H. Biberstein |
Peine forte et dure
Peine forte et dure (French for "hard and forceful punishment") was a method of torture formerly used in the common law legal system, where a defendant who refused to plead ("stood mute") would be subjected to having heavier and heavier stones placed upon his or her chest until a plea was entered, or as the weight of the stones on the chest became too great for the condemned to breathe, fatal suffocation would occur.
Death by crushing
Death by crushing [1] or pressing is a method of execution which has a long history during which the techniques used varied greatly from place to place. This form of execution is no longer sanctioned by any governing body.
A common method of death by crushing was through the use of elephants throughout South and South-East Asia for over 4,000 years of recorded history, and perhaps before that. The Romans and Carthaginians also used this method on occasion. See crushing by elephant.
