Stoning

Stoning is a form of capital punishment in which a human is killed by having stones thrown at them repeatedly.

It has been used since biblical times to punish prostitutes, adulterers, murderers and other, lesser criminals. It has been criticized in the West and in the US as cruel and its use has been abandoned for methods believed to be more humane, such as electrocution, the gas chamber and lethal injection.

However, this form of execution is still used in some countries. The person to be killed is wrapped in a sheet and buried from the waist down. The mob then pelts the culprit repeatedly with rocks. The stones are small enough so that a single stone cannot cause death. In some places, if the criminal manages to become free, and escapes, further punishment is canceled.