§ DR. THOMPSON (Monaghan, N.)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is aware that in executions as carried out in this country death is seldom instantaneous, that in the majority of cases the vertebra is neither dislocated nor fractured, and that in many cases the pulse beats at the wrist after the fall of the drop for five or six minutes; and whether he will order a careful inquiry to be made into the present method of conducting executions in Great Britain and Ireland, with the view of steps being taken to prevent any possibility of the convict being conscious of suffering.
§ *THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE HOME DEPARTMENT (Mr. RITCHIE, Croydon)The exact cause of death is carefully investigated in each case, and this evidence is entirely opposed to what is suggested in the question. I have no reason for supposing that any further inquiry is needed.