Page "Hanging" Paragraph 17

This process, also known as the measured drop, was introduced to Britain in 1872 by William Marwood as a scientific advance on the standard drop.

Instead of everyone falling the same standard distance, the person's height and weight were used to determine how much slack would be provided in the rope so that the distance dropped would be enough to ensure that the neck was broken, but not so much that the person was decapitated.

The careful placement of the eye or knot of the noose ( so that the head was jerked back as the rope tightened ) contributed to breaking the neck predictably.