Stoning

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For the intoxicating effects of certain substances, see stoned.

Stoning or lapidation is a form of capital punishment in which the convicted criminal is put to death by having stones thrown at him or her, generally by a crowd. In some cultures, this was seen as allowing the larger community to participate in the administration of justice. Stoning has been used since ancient times to punish people judged as criminals; these included prostitutes, adulterers, and murderers. In Judaism and Islam, stoning is prescribed as the atonement for some major sins. Stoning became criticized as cruel and its use in most places was abandoned for methods believed to be more humane, such as hanging and decapitation.

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In Judaism

In the Old Testament of the Bible, stoning is specifically prescribed as the method of execution for crimes such as murder, blasphemy and apostasy, and some cases of adultery. However, the Talmud seriously limits the use of the death penalty to those criminals who were warned not to commit the crime in the presence of two witnesses, and persisted in committing the crime also in front of two witnesses. It was said about the death penalty that if a court killed one person in seventy years, it was a barbarous court and should be condemned as such.

Extracts from Deuteronomy 13:6 to 13:10:

If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers; (13:6)

But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. (13:9)

And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. (13:10)

Furthermore, the Talmud describes the stoning punishment (called Skila סקילה in Hebrew) in different terms than the stereotypical notion of hurling rocks at an immobile defendant/victim. Rather, the defendant is brought to the top of a large scaffold, and thrown off. After that (if the defendant was not already dead) very large rocks were dropped on top of the defendant. The punishment, the harshest one in Talmudic law, was intended to be as quick and painless as possible given the nature of the punishment. (That is, there are quicker and more painless punishments, but the Talmud specifically condemns long, drawn out, and torturous punishments).

Mishna, Sanhedrin 6.4 on modalities of stoning:
The place of stoning was the height of two men. One of the witnesses knocked (the convict) down on his back [lit.: "loins"]. If he turned over on his chest [lit: "heart"], the witness turned him on his back. If he died right away, that was enough; but if not, the second (witness) took a stone and dropped it on his chest. If he died right away, that was enough; but if not he was stoned by all Israelites (present)...

Mishna, Sanhedrin 7.4 on offenders sentenced to stoning:
[1] one who has intercourse with his mother or his father's wife, his daughter-in-law, a male or a beast. [2] a woman who copulates with a beast. [3] the blasphemer and the idol-worshipper. [4] one who curses his father or his mother. [5] one who has intercourse with a girl who is betrothed. [6] the instigator (to apostasy) [mesith] and the imposter [maddich; cf. Deut 13]. [7] the sorcerer, and [8] the disobedient or rebellious son.

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In Islam

According to some intepretations of Islamic law, stoning is prescribed as the proper punishment for married men and women who commit adultery when proof is established, or there is pregnancy, or a confession. The adultery in only proved when four eye witnesses testify that the man and woman have indeed gone further than just embracing and kissing to having sex. The crime is also proved if one bears witness against his or her own self four times or there is a pregnancy.

There is strong disagreement among Islamic scholars as to the applicability of stoning for adultery. In the Qu'ran, the punishment for adultery is stated to be one hundred lashes. Stoning to death for offences such as adultery is not a Quranic law and is therefore considered un-Islamic by some scholars.

Stoning is, nonetheless, still a sentence for certain criminal activities in some Islamic countries governed by Sharia law[1], (e.g. Iran[2], Nigeria[3], Saudi ArabiaTemplate:Fact, SudanTemplate:Fact, and the United Arab EmiratesTemplate:Fact.) Authorities sometimes claim that the sentences are commuted to other forms of punishment, capital or otherwise[4].

In April 2002 [5], the Iranian newspaper Entekhab reported that a woman called Ferdows B had been sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment, to be followed by death by stoning. Another woman who received a similar sentence was stoned to death in May 2001, after eight years in Tehran's Evin Prison. She had been convicted of adultery and corruption on earth.

According to Amnesty International [6], Iran imposed a moratorium on stoning in December 2002 under a directive from the Head of the Judiciary, but stoning was still included in a September 2003 law relating to penalties. The organisation has recorded sentences of stoning being imposed since the moratorium was announced, although it is not aware of any such sentences being carried out.

The person to be killed is wrapped in a sheet and buried; male convicts are buried from the waist down, female convicts are buried deeper to prevent the breasts from becoming exposed. The crowd then pelts the victim with stones small enough so that one cannot cause death by itself. In some places, if the criminal manages to struggle free and escape, further punishment is cancelled.

Stoning punishments have been handed down recently in Nigeria for the crimes of adultery and sodomy. [7]

Extracts from Kitab Al-Hudud:

Book 017, Number 4192:
'Ubada b. as-Samit reported that whenever Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) received revelation, he felt its rigour and the complexion of his face changed. One day revelation descended upon him, he felt the same rigour. When it was over and he felt relief, he said: Take from me. Verily Allah has ordained a way for them (the women who commit fornication),: (When) a married man (commits adultery) with a married woman, and an unmarried male with an unmarried woman, then in case of married (persons) there is (a punishment) of one hundred lashes and then stoning (to death). And in case of unmarried persons, (the punishment) is one hundred lashes and exile for one year.

Book 017, Number 4207:
Imran b. Husain reported that a woman from Juhaina came to Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) and she had become pregnant because of adultery. She said: Allah's Apostle, I have done something for which (prescribed punishment) must be imposed upon me, so impose that. Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) called her master and said: Treat her well, and when she delivers bring her to me. He did accordingly. Then Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) pronounced judgment about her and her clothes were tied around her and then he commanded and she was stoned to death. He then prayed over her (dead body). Thereupon Umar said to him: Allah's Apostle, you offer prayer for her, whereas she had committed adultery! Thereupon he said: She has made such a repentance that if it were to be divided among seventy men of Medina, it would be enough. Have you found any repentance better than this that she sacrificed her life for Allah, the Majestic?

Book 017, Number 4218:
Abu Ishaq Shaibani said: I asked 'Abdullah b. Abu Aufi if Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) awarded (the punishment) of stoning (to death). He said: Yes. I said: After Sura al-Nur was revealed or before that? He said: I do not know.

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See also

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External links

es:Lapidación fa:سنگسار fr:Lapidation it:Lapidazione nl:Steniging ja:石打ち no:Steining pl:Ukamienowanie ru:Побиение камнями fi:Kivitys sv:Stening zh:石刑

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