around the world death row isn't just about waiting it's a prison filled with Terror and the kind of fear that's hard to even imagine it's a place where time seems to stop and every tick of the clock brings you closer to the end in some places like certain prisons in the United States inmates suffer through horrific botched executions in Saudi Arabia they face stoning while in North Korea they're executed by firing squad in this video you'll discover the chilling realities of living in constant fear of death while on death row so strap in these stories
are as spine chilling as they are eye openening let's dive in death flights in the 9s in Argentina during the 1990s death row became a place of unimaginable horror the reason behind this will leave you shocked during the Dirty War many prisoners on death row met a brutal fate through something called Death flights the practice was used by the military dictatorship to eliminate political opponents and the details are beyond belief prisoners were often drugged with officials pretending to transfer them to a different facility but instead they were flown out in PLS only to be thrown
into the Atlantic Ocean from thousands of feet above the victims were usually political activists journalists and anyone labeled as a threat to the regime whistleblowers later claimed that many of those targeted were from left-wing groups like The monos or the people's revolutionary Army the campaign was also said to include anyone who dared to oppose the dictatorship the military's goal was to wipe out any trace of their crimes and an estimated 30,000 lives were lost in the process thankfully these death flights didn't go unnoticed in 2017 several military officials were convicted of crimes against humanity with
some being handed life sentences one of the convicted was former naval officer adolo shingo who confessed to throwing 30 left-wing prisoners out of planes at 4 th000 m above the ocean he described how prisoners were sedated and led to their deaths believing they were being taken to safety he was eventually sentenced to a staggering 640 years in prison by a Spanish Court shingo became the first Argentinian military officer jailed by a foreign court for crimes against humanity while these death flights were deliberate and horrific not all executions go according to plan a botched execution in
2014 in the United States Clayton lockett's execution turned into a nightmare it wasn't just the fact that he was put to death that raised eyebrows it was what happened during the process Lockett had been arrested in 1999 for the murder of 19-year-old Stephanie nean who had just graduated from high school two weeks earlier along with two accompli Lockett had brutally attacked one of Neiman's friends and molested another Lockett allegedly told Neeman several times that he would kill her if she didn't promise to stay quiet but despite his threats nean refused to back down insisting she'd
go to the police tragically before she could do that Lockett pulled out a gun and shot her twice he and his accompli then buried her in a shallow grave while she was still alive 15 years later Lockett faced one of the most horrific executions ever recorded he was sentenced to die by lethal injection but things went horribly wrong the IV that was meant to administer the lethal drugs was placed incorrectly caus causing him to die from a heart attack court filings revealed that locket was pricked at least 16 times in attempts to get the IV
in place the proper needle was unavailable so the doctor used a smaller 1.2 5 in Needle instead of the usual 2 to 2.25 in1 and tried inserting it into lockett's femoral vein a witness to the execution described how Lockett groan and twisted in pain as the lethal drugs were administered and it took 43 minutes for him to finally die a similar though chaotic situation happened in Serbia back in 1947 when individuals seen as war criminals or political enemies were executed by members of the Yugoslav partisan movement these executions weren't planned but were rather carried out
as part of a chaotic post-war Vendetta but while some death row incidents were unintentional others were carried out with cold calculated purpose one of the most brutal methods of execution is electrocution a shocking and painful process that involves passing a high voltage electric current through an inmate's body it's one of the most widely used forms of execution in the US and typically involves electrodes attached to the head and legs of The Condemned person who was strapped to a chair one Infamous example is the 1953 execution of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg who were convicted of Espionage
on June 19th 1953 the rosenbergs were executed in the electric chair at Sing Sing prison in New York after being accused of passing US Atomic secrets to the Soviet Union they became the first US citizens to be executed for Espionage during peace time Julius had been arrested in 1950 for allegedly leading a spy ring that gave the Soviets top secret information about the atomic bomb Ethel was arrested 2 months later and after a short trial they were both convicted despite the trial and mounting controversy the couple maintained their innocence all the way to the end
in 1990 however Jesse taro's execution was anything but ordinary instead of the usual procedure he experienced unimaginable suffering when the electric chair malfunctioned it was reported that the chair failed three times causing Flames to LEAP from his head while many Death Row cases focus on the physical pain inflicted on inmates this next one is all about the torment they experience mentally death row isolation in Japan death row inmates live in almost complete isolation sometimes for decades and without any prior warning of their execution date in these countries death row inmates endure harsh psychologically draining conditions
often for long stretches of time they're usually kept in solitary confinement with little to no interaction with others and minimal access to sunlight or fresh air this extreme isolation can wreak havoc on their mental health one of the most controversial parts of Japan's death penalty system is the fact that inmates often aren't told when their execution will take place they usually only find out a few hours before denying them the chance to mentally prepare for their death say goodbye to their loved ones or make any final legal challenges the Japanese government defends this practice saying
it's necessary to maintain order and prevent suicides but critics argue it's cruel and inhumane inmates live in constant fear knowing that any day could be their last a similar practice happens in China in 2012 a talk show called interviews before execution revealed how prisoners in China are often executed just 7 days after being sentenced the show gave condemned inmates a platform to share their stories before their execution offering a rare glimpse into the lives of those on death row in India While most prisoners sentenced to death end up with their sentences commuted to life imprisonment
there are still those who face the death penalty once their sentence is confirmed these inmates are placed under a different prison regime while executions are supposed to take place shortly after sentencing some some prisoners end up spending years on death row in 1983 the Indian Supreme Court ruled that no inmate should be left on death row for more than 2 years but this ruling hasn't always been followed in 2014 a 14-day waiting period was introduced before executions to give inmates a chance to spend time with their families however this law hasn't always been respected for
instance in 2015 yakub Mayon a terrorist Finance here was hang just hours after the Supreme Court rejected his final Mercy petition sparking widespread criticism in India people have criticized the quickness of executions and Zambia has a similar issue in Zambia prisoners sentenced to death often stay on death row for decades because the government is hesitant to sign execution warrants the long wait has sparked lots of controversy but there's one particular death row experience that's been even more heavily criticized firing squad executions in 2022 North Korea publicly executed three teenagers by firing squad two of them
were punished for watching and distributing South Korean movies and one was executed for killing his stepmother the authorities described their crimes as evil and insisted that anyone guilty of these offenses would not be forgiven facing the maximum penalty death Witnesses who saw the execution described it as terrifying while executions like this are rare in North Korea they are not unheard of and some say the government uses them to scare the public into compliance similar to North Korea the US has had its own history with firing squad executions Utah in particular is one of only two
states to carry out executions by firing squad it's the only one to have done so since the end of the 1972 to 1976 National moratorium on capital punishment a well-known case is the execution of Ronnie Lee Gardner in 2010 Gardner has had been sentenced to death for killing a man during an escape attempt from a courthouse in 2010 1985 in 1984 Gardner had killed Melvin John otterstrom in a robbery and during his court hearing in 1985 he shot and killed attorney Michael berell while trying to escape despite evidence showing that Gardner had a troubled upbringing
his appeals were denied and his requests for a lighter sentence were rejected he was executed by firing squad in Utah in 2010 while death sentences in Utah and North Korea were brutal inmates there at least knew what was coming in mianmar however prisoners face even worse before they die intense torture since myanmar's military coup in 2021 the country has severely restricted civil freedoms leading to widespread oppression Reports say thousands of activists protesters and political dissidents have been arrested on false charges like terrorism and sedition many face secret military tribunals unfair trials and harsh punishments including
the death penalty but before they even reach death many inmates undergo brutal torture even more disturbing Reports say that prisoners often receive inadequate Medical Care leading to deaths in custody in 2023 alone 34 political prisoners died in myanmar's jails with 18 killed in detention and 16 dying due to lack of treatment torture is becoming more common for those awaiting execution reports of torture lack of medical care and even deaths in custody have made many question what inmates on death row in Myanmar are really going through in 2023 alone 34 political prisoners lost their lives in
myanmar's prisons human rights groups report that 18 were killed inside detention centers and 16 died because they didn't get the medical treatment they needed torture has also become more common since the coup with some prisoners even dying during transfers between facilities under accusations of trying to escape one heartbreaking case is that of 29-year-old former rapper and singer San ly San after the coup San gave up his music career to join anti-regime activities eventually becoming a member of the Black Dragon Force a rebel group accused of killing regime appointed local officials he was arrested in September
2023 sentenced to death the next month and transferred to a prison in paen while in detention San developed a severe medical condition caused by torture during interrogation according to a family friend he needed surgery to treat a buildup of cerebros spinal fluid in his brain unfortunately despite his worsening health San was denied proper Medical Care and this led to his death while inmates in Myanmar face intense torture those in Thailand also endure significant pain particularly from Lethal Injections in 2003 Thailand switched from firing squads to Lethal Injections for executions since then there have been several
incidents involving this method one such case occurred in 2014 when Edgar Tayo a Mexican national was executed for the 1994 killing of a police officer named Gattis Tamayo had shot the officer outside a nightclub after he was caught robbing someone although the Mexican Government was notified of Tomo's case just before the trial their appeals for cl were rejected and he was executed by lethal injection in Huntsville Texas a similar case in Thailand involved theerasak longi a convicted murderer who was executed for the robbery and brutal murder of a 17-year-old boy longi allegedly stabbed his victim
24 times he became the first person to be executed in Thailand since 2009 and the seventh person to be executed by lethal injection since the country switched from firing squads to this method While most most death row incidents like Lethal Injections happen within Prison Walls this next incident took place in the open public hanging in Saudi Arabia crimes such as drug trafficking or political dissent are often punished by public executions in Saudi Arabia as of September 2024 Saudi authorities have executed over 198 individuals marking the highest number of executions in the country since 1990 despite
repeated promises to limit the use of the death penalty Saudi authorities have only increased executions often failing to meet International standards for fair trials one example of public execution is the case of Mia quasim Ali a senior leader of the jamaat islami party Ali A former top businessman was convicted of war crimes during Bangladesh's 1971 war of independence after being sentenced to death his appeal was dismissed by Bangladesh's Top Court leaving him with the option to seek clemency which he refused the authorities prepared for his execution and he was eventually hanged for crimes he allegedly
committed years earlier a similar situation occurred with Iraqi politician and revolutionary Saddam Hussein he was convicted of crimes against humanity specifically for the massacre of 148 Iraqi Shiites in the town of dile in 1982 despite being sentenced to death by an Iraqi Court Saddam requested to be executed by firing squad rather than hanging arguing that hanging was not the lawful military capital punishment his request was denied and on December 30th 2006 Saddam was executed by hanging the Iraqi government later released an official video of his execution showing his walk to the Gallows and the placement
of the Noose around his neck while Saddam Hussein and the other individuals mentioned were executed individually a different scenario occurred in the form of mass executions in 1988 thousands of political prisoners were secretly executed in Iran Reports say the massacre which began on July 19th 1988 lasted 5 months and involved a series of mass executions of Iranian political prisoners these executions which took place in at least 32 cities were allegedly ordered by Iranian Islamic revolutionary ayatollahi and carried out by Iranian officials the trials were not focused on determining the guilt or innocence of the defendants
and were carried out without legislative basis while the exact number of those killed remains uncertain human rights organizations estimate that up to 5,000 people were executed some estimates such as from Human Rights Watch place the number between 2,800 and 30,000 while Amnesty International and the United Nations Human Rights Council estimate at least 30,000 individuals were killed Saudi Arabia's government also announced the mass execution of 37 men in various parts of the country reports indicated that at least 33 of the 37 victims were from the country's minority Shia community and had been convicted following unfair trials
for a range of alleged crimes including protest related offenses Espionage and terrorism this wasn't the only time Saudi Arabia has carried out such executions in 2016 47 men were executed in the country for terrorism offenses and by the end of 2019 over 100 people had already been publicly executed Mass executions like these have received widespread condemnation internationally this next death row incident execution by stoning has also been globally criticized execution by stoning is a common practice in Islamic countries that adhere to Sharia law specifically under the hudud punishments this method involves an organized group throwing
stones at a convicted individual until they die they St under certain interpretations of sharia law stoning is often used as a punishment for adultery committed by a married person in Afghanistan under Taliban rule women accused of adultery are often subjected to execution by stoning without proper legal proceedings earlier this year hibatullah akun Zada the Taliban supreme leader issued an audio message stating that women would be flogged and stoned to death in public for crimes akun Zada reaffirmed the group's stance on public floggings and stoning adding that while other societies May view this as a violation
of women's rights the Taliban intends to continue this practice while stoning executions have mainly been used on women this next method was applied to both men and women Guillotine executions before abolishing the death penalty in 1981 France used the guillotine as a method of execution introduced in 1792 the guillotine was conceived as a Humane and efficient method of execution prior to this executions in France were often brutal and inconsistent involving methods like hanging burning or breaking on the wheel the guillotine however was designed to provide a quick painless death for all individuals regardless of social
class the execution device consisted of a tall wooden frame with a heavy angled blade suspended at the top The Condemned individual's head was placed in a groove on the base and the blade was released to fall rapidly severing the head instantly a notable example of this method was the execution of Hamida jand dubi the last person to be executed by guillotine jand dubi a Tunisian immigrant living in Marseilles was executed in 1977 for the torture and murder of his girlfriend John dubie allegedly killed her in retaliation after she reported to authorities that he had attempted
to force her into prostitution he was sentenced to death in February 1977 and executed by guillotine in September of that year in Saudi Arabia a similar method of execution is employed beheading public beheadings often carried out for drug offenses have been widely reported the surge in executions in Saudi Arabia has raised alarms drawing International condemnation in late 20202 Saudi authorities executed 12 people within 10 days for drug offenses including citizens from countries like Pakistan Syria and Jordan many of these individuals were allegedly sentenced to death under controversial circumstances such as confessions obtained through alleged torture
in some cases the families of the accused were not even notified before the execution in 2019 five bodies were reportedly crucified after being beheaded these men all yemeni nationals were beheaded and crucified in the city of jison while another Saudi Arabian man was executed in the southwestern city of abha photographs from the scene showed five decapitated bodies hanging from a horizontal Pole their heads wrapped in bags the beheadings and crucifixions reportedly took place in front of the University of Jaan where students were taking exams similar to beheading this next death row incident is particularly shocking
purged by anti-aircraft gun this method is commonly used in North Korea where it has been reported that senior officials who were deemed a threat to Kim jong-un's leadership were executed this way for instance in 2016 officials such as hangman a former agriculture Minister and Rong Jinn a senior official at the education Ministry were reportedly executed using anti-aircraft guns at a military academy in Pyongyang H was allegedly killed for making policy proposals that were seen as a direct threat to Kim's leadership while re was said to have been executed for falling asleep during a meeting chaired
by Kim Jong-un a similar incident occurred in 2015 when North Korea executed its defense Chief hyan Yong chol by anti-aircraft gun at a firing range hyan who headed the country's military was charged with treason including disobeying Kim Jong-un and falling asleep during an event in Kim's presence it was reported that Kim Jong-un had ordered the execution of 15 senior officials before hyan as punishment for challenging his authority while many of these executions are carried out by authorities there have also been reports of unusual behavior by inmates on death row one of of the most famous
examples of such behavior is that of Thomas Grasso who was executed in 1995 Grasso requested a last meal consisting of two dozen steamed muscles a Burger King double cheeseburger and a slice of pumpkin pie with whipped cream however due to the prison's inability to provide the necessary ingredients none of his requested food was served in addition to unusual meal requests some inmates make strange or memorable final statements asserting their innocence or expressing love and affection for their families there are also reports of death row inmates creating art or writing letters in the days leading up
to their executions including poetry and paintings some inmates also make bizarre requests such as asking to see specific family members receive particular items or even have their pets brought to them there are also reports of lastminute legal Maneuvers where inmates attempt to delay their executions by presenting unusual legal arguments many of these death incidents have sparked widespread controversy and criticism particularly in cases involving gruesome killings although some of these execution methods have been abolished others remain in existence to this very day
