The Executioners

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[edit] General Information

History Documentary hosted by Jonathan Kydd, published by Alba Communications in 2004 - English narration

[edit] Cover

[edit] Information

The Original Deadly Job. A fascinating documentary on a very contentious topic, The Executioners will take you through the history of mankind's ultimate form of punishment. Meet a selection of the deadliest men in history as this spinechilling series recalls the haunting history of The Executioners. From the hangmen who plied their trade in Britain well into the 1960s, to the infamous 'Bourreaux' of France who killed over 1,000 people between them, and the shadowy figures operating in the United States, learn the truth behind the men who acted as the final barrier between life and death. Series is an in-depth look at the history of capital punishment in Britain, France and America. It tells the story through the often-overlooked and shadowy figures of the executioners themselves, and examines the history of the five principal methods of execution: hanging, firing squad, electric chair, gas chamber and lethal injection. THE EXECUTIONERS is the tale of the hangmen, everyday folk who were cobblers, salesmen, barbers and working men, but they were anything but ordinary, their trade was also to act as the country's part-time killers. This gruesome but fascinating documentary explores Britain's history of capital punishment, as well as investigating other methods of execution in France and America. Produced & Edited by John Keeling ; Produced by DGP Productions for Alba Communications Ltd

[edit] Hangman

As late as the 1960's, Britain was still executing convicted murderers. The method: death by hanging. From 1868 to 1964, their work was shrouded in mystery, conducted, as the state euphemistically put it, in 'private'. And behind prison walls these common working-men refined the process of judicial executions from an agonising, brutal death to one of the swiftest and most certain anywhere in the world.
What did they do? Why did they do it? And what did it do to them? This is the story of The Private Executioners, a unique history of British capital punishment, seen through the eyes of those who dispensed it.

[edit] Dynasties of Death

A typical 19th century wedding photograph. The guests well-groomed. Eminently respectable. There is nothing to distinguish it from countless others.
But it tells the very darkest story of French history. The groom, Henri Desfourneaux, is a killer. To his left, Anatole Deibler Desfourneaux, another. Two rows back another... Between them, they would killed more than a thousand men. They were not criminals. Nor soldiers. They killed for money. But were not volunteers. They had no choice. Theirs was a grim and inescapable inheritance. They were the "Bourreaux" - the executioners. And they lived their lives apart from ordinary men - in the shadow of the Guillotine.

[edit] States of Death

For much of the world it was the rope or the blade. In France the guillotine. But in its short history the United States of America has experimented with a bewildering array of execution methods, and continues to do so.
This programme examines the history of the five principal methods: Hanging, Firing Squad, Electric Chair, Gas Chamber and Lethal Injection. And the reasons behind their development have often been as shocking as the results, from corporate wars to so-called 'religious' sensibilities.
But perhaps the most overlooked aspect of American execution protocol is the role of the executioner. Whereas British and French executioners were invariably well-known and truly responsible for the execution, even to the extent of supporting the condemned in their final moments, American executioners (with a few notable exceptions) have been altogether more shadowy figures than their European counterparts.

[edit] Screenshots

[edit] Technical Specs

Video Codec: XviD 1.1.2 Final
Video Bitrate: 896 kbps
Video Resolution: 640x352
Display Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Frames Per Second: 25.000
Audio Codec: 0x0055 MPEG-1 Layer 3
Audio Bitrate: 128kb/s VBR 48000 Hz
Audio Streams: 2
Audio Languages: english
RunTime Per Part: 47 min
Number Of Parts: 3
Part Size: 349 MB
Source: PDTV
Encoded by: SomeTV