# Questions about Stoning! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 10, 2009, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-stoning/509547 "2009-09-10T12:40:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-stoning/509547/1 "2009-09-10T12:40:47Z")
I have some questions about stoning as a means of execution. What size rocks did they use? How long would it take to actually kill someone? Were other execution methods considered preferable to stoning, more humane, or efficient? (It seems to me that stoning would take a lot longer than, say, beheading or hangiing.) Do people still do this today? Thanks in advance for any information that you can give me. (Standard Disclaimer: No, I am not planning to stone anybody. Just curious!) ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-stoning/509547/2 "2009-09-10T12:58:31Z")
Here is a _modern-day_ take on a “high-tech” stoning in Saudi Arabia, from _Cockpit Confessions of an Airline Pilot_ by Stephen Keshner, a book I highly recommend. He regularly flew into Saudi Arabia in addition to his Southeast Asian routes; there’s a very interesting juxtaposition of the beer-and-pussy, nonstop party experiences in Thailand and the Philippines with the fear and loathing that he and his crew went through during his Saudi runs; since he happens to be Jewish, his anxiety about the place was even more pronounced. The overall tone of the book is a Gonzo-style comic adventure, but in the chapters about Saudi Arabia he really makes the place seem downright terrifying, especially this description of a public “stoning”: - Today we’re in for a treat. A Muslim husband has accused one of his wives of infidelity. Worse yet, as Jerry works out from the crowd, she’s been caught being unfaithful with a non-Muslim. She will be stoned to death. Lucky for her, however, Jeddah, unlike most other Muslim cities, has gone ‘high tech’. We watch as she is lowered into a prepared pit, about 10’x5’x8’ deep. The throaty rumble of the tractor is enough to clear a path for it through the side of the crowd. We watch a front loader full of huge chunks of rock and concrete pieces lifted high above the pit. At a nod from the Imam, the tractor operator releases his load. The woman is no longer visible, buried beneath tons of rubble and dust. “Man, it was much worse in the old days,” says Mark. “They used to just have the husband and his male family members and buddies just throw rocks at the bitch until she died. Took forever.”\* ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-stoning/509547/3 "2009-09-10T14:29:45Z")
Requisite [link](http://www.geocities.com/pythoninsanity/LifeofBrian.html) (Scenes 3 & 4) ---
**Author:** ![JerseyFrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bcef8e/32.png) [@JerseyFrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerseyFrank)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-stoning/509547/4 "2009-09-10T14:33:13Z")
I’d have died there too. No way possible for me to keep my mouth shut as they bury someone alive like that. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-stoning/509547/5 "2009-09-10T15:59:10Z")
Jim Bishop, in his book _The Day Christ Died_, says that one method in Biblical times was to throw the person off a cliff and then drop stones on them if they survived. This may be what they were up to [here](http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+4:29&version=CEV) - > [@](#): > > They dragged him to the edge of the cliff on which the town was built, because they wanted to throw him down from there. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-stoning/509547/6 "2009-09-10T16:03:29Z")
Shodan, That’s essentially correct. The Mishna in Sanhedrin describes the procedure. 1. Drug the convict so that he doesn’t feel as much pain 2. One of the witnesses pushes him off a cliff (most often he died of defenestration) 3. If that doesn’t kill him, the other witness threows a large stone at him 4. If that doesn’t kill him, then other people continue to stone him until he is dead. Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-stoning/509547/7 "2009-09-10T16:13:56Z")
Thanks for the info, **Zev**. Do you know what drug was used? Two of the Gospels mention that Jesus was offered wine mixed with something or other before His crucifixion, and Bishop says that this was done by the local _hadassah_. I didn’t think they had any effective analgesics apart from alcohol and auto-suggestion. Did they have opium? Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-stoning/509547/8 "2009-09-10T16:30:19Z")
What follows is, allegedly, a description of the procedure employed in Iran under the Mullahs, at least until 1998 and perhaps more recently. The salient points are like so: > [@](#): > > The penalty for adultery under Article 83 of the penal code, called the Law of Hodoud is flogging (100 lashes of the whip) for unmarried male and female offenders. Married offenders may be punished by stoning regardless of their gender, but the method laid down for a man involves his burial up to his waist, and for a woman up to her neck (article 102). The law provides that if a person who is to be stoned manages to escape, he or she will be allowed to go free. Since it is easier for a man to escape, this discrimination literally becomes a matter of life and death. followed by: > [@](#): > > Article 104 of the Law of Hodoud provides that the stones should not be so large that a person dies after being hit with two of them, nor so small as to be defined as pebbles, but must cause severe injury. This makes it clear that the purpose of stoning is to inflict grievous pain on the victim, in a process leading to his or her slow death. plus this: > [@](#): > > Anecdotes of this brutal process reveal ever more of cruelty. The regime’s authorities usually force the victim’s family members, including children, to watch the stoning to death of their loved one, and in some instances, when the woman miraculously managed to escape, contrary to the regime’s own law, she was recaptured and either stoned again or killed on the spot. A list of people supposedly stoned to death between 1980 and 1997 is given. There’s also a video but I can’t get it to work. [Link](http://www.iran-e-azad.org/stoning/women.html). ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-stoning/509547/9 "2009-09-10T16:38:13Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Thanks for the info, **Zev**. Do you know what drug was used? Two of the Gospels mention that Jesus was offered wine mixed with something or other before His crucifixion, and Bishop says that this was done by the local _hadassah_. I didn’t think they had any effective analgesics apart from alcohol and auto-suggestion. Did they have opium? [They did have opium.](http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/08/07/health/main517826.shtml). Hashish as well. ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-stoning/509547/10 "2009-09-10T16:47:12Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Thanks for the info, **Zev**. Do you know what drug was used? Two of the Gospels mention that Jesus was offered wine mixed with something or other before His crucifixion, and Bishop says that this was done by the local _hadassah_. I didn’t think they had any effective analgesics apart from alcohol and auto-suggestion. Did they have opium? > > Regards, > Shodan I actually went back to the Mishna to see if I could find the Hebrew term for the drug used and I found that any reference to drugging the convict is not there. Nonetheless, I am positive that I read from several sources that it _was_ done. I’ll have to do further research to find the source and see if anything in particular is named. Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-stoning/509547/11 "2009-09-10T17:01:22Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > [They did have opium.](http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/08/07/health/main517826.shtml). Hashish as well. Thanks - I did not know that. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-stoning/509547/12 "2009-09-10T17:03:45Z")
> [@zev\_steinhardt](#): > > 1. One of the witnesses pushes him off a cliff (most often he died of defenestration) Their cliffs have windows? ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-stoning/509547/13 "2009-09-10T17:30:10Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > Their cliffs have windows? My apologies. I thought it was a generic term for falling from a high place. I did not realize that it specifically meant being thrown out of a window. Ignorance fought and vanquished. Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-stoning/509547/14 "2009-09-10T17:31:12Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > Their cliffs have windows? Damn it, you stole my nitpick. I hate when that happens. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-stoning/509547/15 "2009-09-10T20:22:31Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > Their cliffs have windows? The hills have eyes, and eyes are the windows to the soul. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-stoning/509547/16 "2009-09-10T20:35:14Z")
Two big flat ones, five little sharp ones and a bag of gravel, wasn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-stoning/509547/17 "2009-09-10T20:42:03Z")
> [@gytalf2000](#): > > Do people still do this today? Maybe not today, but certanly as recent a April 7, 2007, when a young Kurdish woman named **Du’a Khalil Aswad** (not a Moslem; she was of the [Yadizi](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yazidi#Religious_practices) religion, as were her killers). Traditionally, stoning may have been performed according to strict procedure, but in the case of St Stephen and many others, I can’t be convinced it was anything besides lynching in a part of the world where there’s more rocks than trees. People get worked up and start chucking rocks, as you can see if you’ve the stomach to search on Youtube for the young woman’s name in boldface above. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-stoning/509547/18 "2009-09-10T21:17:20Z")
[quote=“zev\_steinhardt, post:6, topic:509547”] > [@zev\_steinhardt](#): > > I thought it was a generic term for falling from a high place. I did not realize that it specifically meant being thrown out of a window. IIRC from my high school Latin classes, it actually has its roots in the Latin word _fenestra_, window (_de fenestra_, out from the window). ---
**Author:** ![kapri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4491bb/32.png) [@kapri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kapri)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2009, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-stoning/509547/19 "2009-09-11T02:30:54Z")
I saw a video of a stoning online a year or more ago. It was taken with a cell phone, I think, and of poor quality, but still horrifying. The person to be stoned seemed to be completely wrapped in gauze, like a mummy, then put into a hole–sort of buried up to about their chest. Large rocks were thrown at him/her, and the whole time this was going on, creepy chanting or music–something like that–was being played. It was just awful.