Crushing (execution)

Death by crushing or pressing is a method of execution that has a history during which the techniques used varied greatly from place to place, generally involving placing heavy weights upon a person with the intent to kill.

Crushing by elephant

A common method of death throughout South and Southeast Asia for over 4,000 years was crushing by elephants. The Sasanians, Romans, and Carthaginians also used this method on occasion.

Ancient Rome

In ancient Roman legend, Tarpeia was a Vestal Virgin who betrayed the city of Rome to the Sabines in exchange for what she thought would be a reward of jewellery. She was instead crushed to death and her body cast from the Tarpeian Rock, which bears her name.

Crushing in pre-Columbian America

Crushing is also reported from pre-Columbian America, notably in the Aztec Empire.

Crushing under Mongol rule

Due to religious beliefs, it was at times viewed as better to execute prisoners without the shedding of blood. The means with which it could occur would vary.

Crushing under common law

Peine forte et dure (Law French for "forceful and hard punishment") was a method of torture formerly used in the common law legal system, in which 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 occurred.

The common law courts originally took a very limited view of their own jurisdiction.