A crucifixion was a ceremonial punishment of the Roman Empire dating back well before the Punic Wars with Carthage. Most people only think of Jesus' crucifixion, but so many others were crucified before and after him. Crucifixion originated with the Assyrians and Babylonians as a form of execution of slaves and rebels. The process of crucifixion is a gruesome and humiliating type of capital punishment. Not only was it the worst punishment one could receive, but it was also used by spectators to see the heavy toll that certain crimes took. In today's society, there are people who boycott the electric chair and even death by lethal injection; I shudder to think of the reactions a real crucifixion would provoke, how inhumane they would consider it in this day and age. After conviction at a trial, the prisoner is stripped naked and tied to a post, then flogged, also called whipping. The whip used for flogging often had a wooden handle and long leather straps, with pieces of metal attached to the end of each end of the straps. The prisoner is first bruised by the constant whipping, then due to the metal tearing the flesh, digging into the tissue and muscle, the prisoner is drenched in his own blood. The flogging continued until the condemned man's back and shoulders became unrecognizable and the soldiers knew that the prisoner would no longer be able to resist it. The beatings were not the end, they were only aimed at weakening the person and causing them even more pain when they moved to the second phase. When they determined that the prisoner was near death and significantly weakened, they stopped the beatings and moved on to the second phase; of course some never even... middle of paper ......0-2011) There were some that were taken apart once dead and buried in an unmarked grave, or claimed by their families, and then there were those who were left to rot, as a sign to the people entering the city, as a message of how seriously they took the crimes. However, modern day society tends to think that the electric chair and lethal injection are inhumane. Although the punishments are similar when the offender is exposed, the magnitude of how you die from a crucifixion far exceeds any imaginable death. Works cited all about Jesus Christ. (2002-2011). Retrieved from http://www.allaboutjesuschrist.org/crucifixion.htmBorsheim, R. (2000-2011). The Crucifixion. Extracted from www.bandoli.no: http://www.bandoli.no/index.htmSailles, D. d. (nd). Retrieved from www.csun.edu: http://www.csun.edu/~hbeng151/icc/studies/account.html