- Official Table of Drops
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The Official Table of Drops, published by the British Home Office, is a manual which was used to calculate the appropriate length of rope for long drop hangings.
Following a series of failed hangings including those of John 'Babbacombe' Lee, a committee chaired by Henry Bruce (Baron Aberdare) was formed in 1886 to discover and report on the most effective manner of hanging. The results of the committee's report were published in 1888.
A significantly revised edition of the Table of Drops was published in 1913, when the length of rope previously used for a 14 stone individual was prescribed for an 8 stone individual.
Body weight 1888-1913 drop Modern drop Stone lb kg ft cm ft cm 14.0 196 89 8′0" 244 5′5" 165 13.5 189 86 8′2" 249 5′6" 168 13.0 182 82¾ 8′4" 254 5′8" 173 12.5 175 79½ 8′6" 259 5′11" 180 12.0 168 76¼ 8′8" 264 6′1" 185 11.5 161 73¼ 8′10" 269 6′4" 193 11.0 154 70 9′0" 274 6′6" 198 10.5 147 66¾ 9′2" 279 6′8" 203 10.0 140 63¾ 9′4" 284 7′1" 215 9.5 133 60½ 9′6" 290 7′5" 226 9.0 126 57¼ 9′8" 295 7′7" 231 8.5 119 54 9′10" 300 7′9" 236 8.0 112 51 10′0" 305 8′0" 244 External links
Categories:- Capital punishment in the United Kingdom
- Execution equipment
- Crime stubs
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