In countries in which whips or clubs were used to control slaves or to inflict punishment on offenders, governments not only overlooked any resulant deaths but encouraged, even sanctioned, the use of such weapons as instruments of execution and torture.

The process usually included more than one person, and a weapon, usually some crude bludgening tool. Chained or unchained, the end result was a bloody mess of flesh and bone grasping for a last gasp of air...