00:00Welcome to my channel Shadows of History. What was the strangest execution in history?
00:06Contrary to the popular belief, people don't always die when they're killed.
00:11This is Tyburn Tree, London's largest site for public hangings from at least 1177 until 1798,
00:17when Newgate Prison became the new home for this macabre form of entertainment.
00:21Out of the thousands executed there, one famous case was that of a William Duell.
00:26Indicted on charges of rape, robbery and murder, the 17-year-old Duell was eventually convicted of
00:32rape and sentenced to death. On a bitter winter's day in November 1740, the condemned youth faced the
00:38noose at Tyburn alongside four others. After being hanged for 22 minutes, he was cut down and his
00:44body hauled into a hackney coach, to be taken to barber-surgeon's hall, where his body would be
00:49dissected for the purposes of medical research. The surgeon and his assistants got a surprise when
00:54they placed the corpse on the slab though. It groaned. Further examination revealed some other
00:59signs of life, so they let several ounces of blood and after a while, he was able to sit up,
01:05though it was a while before he could do anything else. He was then transported to Newgate Prison
01:09where he was held up in a cell and given broth and covers to keep him warm. In a matter of days,
01:15he was reported to be back to full health, and had developed a strong appetite. During this time,
01:20the powers that were had to decide what to do with him. After all, he was legally dead. In the end,
01:27to avoid making a mockery of the law and to curb the spread of the knowledge that it was possible
01:31to survive hanging, they decided to sentence him to transportation. He was sent to North America
01:37and reportedly lived out the rest of his life in Boston, before dying at around the age of 82.
01:42in the end.
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