Alexander Solschenizyn (An russian dissident) came to the conclusion (in the Gulag Archipelago ) that his torturers where normal people, driven by inhuman conditions. (however interesting, shocking and insightfull the book is a terrible read)
Indeed the greatest philosopher in our time, Terry Prattchet 
seems to agree.
Also the experiments conducted by Stanley Milgram indicate that most ordinary people do not need much by way of pressure to become torturers.
We on the other hand, being forewarned, could of course never be tricked or pressured into becoming torturers 
.
I’d like to point out that Fort Smith was the city in the movie “True Grit” that John Wayne was based in. So when you saw the hangings there, that would have been THIS guy portrayed. Present-day Fort Smith has a neat little old town, complete with Judge Parker’s courthouse and the gallows all restored.
Executions as the family business. I wonder if at the get-togethers, they all swap stories of the most amusing or interesting executions.
The actor on the left is (I now know) Timothy Spall, bka Wormtail/Peter Pettegrew in Goblet of Fire or as The Mikado actor in Topsy Turvy. When I first saw the image, though, I honestly thought "Hey, Benny from LA LAW got a starring role in something.
