Torture
In theory, torture was not considered cruelty or punishment but the means to elicit the truth. Torture became integral to securing confessions, and was often applied more severely than the law allowed. Interrogators would circumvent rules prohibiting repeated torture sessions by characterizing them as continuations of the first instance. Scribes carefully recorded a victim’s answers to a set of leading questions. Many ended up confessing to crimes they had not committed rather than submit again. And those who did not recant their confessions were afforded the small mercy of being strangled before being burned. Some died as the result of torture or the horrendous conditions of their imprisonment.
The means of torture varied from country to country, with use of the strappado being a common form. With arms tied from behind, a victim would be hoisted into the air and the shoulders pulled from their sockets without leaving visible marks. Sometimes weights were attached to the legs to increase the pain. Other common forms of torture included flogging, binding, stretching, and the use of thumbscrews or vises.
