ABSTRACT
Squassation or th~ T ortur~ of th~ Pull~y THE torture of the pulley was known as the first torture of the Inquisition. With this method the victim was, as usual in most torments of the Inquisition, stripped to his drawers, his ankles shackled, and his wrists tied securely behind his back. A stout rope was then fastened to his wrists and carried over a pulley fixed to the roof of the torture chamber. The executioners drew him up with this rope until he was suspended about six feet from the floor. In this position, heavy iron weights, usually amounting to about 100 pounds, were attached to the irons on his feet. At this juncture he was asked once more to reveal the truth. Refusal meant the infliction of a number of stripes with a whip upon his naked back. The questions were repeated. Failure to confess was the signal for the torture to start in real earnest.' The executioners pulled on the rope, raising the victim almost to the ceiling. Suddenly allowing the rope to slack for several feet, they then brought this rapid descent to an abrupt termination before the weights reached the floor. The shock to the body, of this suddenly terminated fall, was sufficient to jar every bone, joint and nerve in the system. In most cases it entailed dislocation. The process was repeated again and again until the culprit confessed or became unconscious.
