An analysis of 46 recent public hangings in Iran that were legally and meticulously photographed at every stage by official news agency cameramen showed obvious physical struggling in 10 cases, the tongue protruding slightly in four cases, no obvious reddening of the face in any case, drooling from the mouth in two cases and what appears to be an erection and ejaculation in one case and ejaculation only in the second case.In only one case was there evidence of urination and there were no apparent instances of defecation.All of the prisoners were hanged using coiled nooses with the knot placed at the back of the neck, thus putting maximum pressure on the base of the tongue and the carotid arteries and jugular veins.In a recent triple public hanging in Iran which was videoed the two male prisoners seemed to go limp as soon as they were hoisted into the air and showed no signs of physical struggle.The third prisoner, a woman, struggled hard for approximately one minute before becoming still. (See later for a description of this execution). In another video-taped execution that took place in 2012 a man is seen to convulse for 1 minute and 43 seconds a few seconds after being suspended.As described above the legs were drawn up several times and there were movements of the arms and hands. A study carried out on filmed suicide and autoerotic hangings by the Working Group on Human Asphyxia concluded that consciousness is lost in 10 +/- 3 seconds, followed by convulsive movements that continue for 14 +/- 3 seconds, followed by Decerebrate posturing, such as the legs being drawn up or curving backwards, lasting for 18 +/- 2 seconds.Loss of muscle tone where the body appears to be limp, is noted at 1 minute 31 seconds +/- 9 seconds.These findings closely correspond with the observation of filmed hangings in Iran. Decerebrate posturing is caused by lesions of the brainstem due to the coils of the noose pressing on it.As the prisoners arms are invariably handcuffed behind their backs, Decerebrate posturing of the arms is largely prevented.

Pole hanging.
Austria, Czechoslovakia and Hungary used an unusual variant of short drop hanging.There was no gallows as such, but rather a stout vertical wooden pole (or post) of about 2-3 meters height with a metal hook or eye bolt at the top to which a rope noose was attached.There was either a ladder or steps up to a small platform at the back of the pole for the executioner to stand on.The pinioned prisoner was placed with their back to the pole and then lifted up either manually by the hangmans assistants, on a simple board platform or by a cloth sling running under their armpits so that the executioner could put the noose round their neck.At the signal they were now jerked downwards by the assistants thus tightening the noose.This jerk combined with the thinness of the cord typically caused a carotid reflex and led to rapid unconsciousness.Late 19th century Austrian hangman, Josef Lang, considered this method to be far more humane than American style standard drop hanging and claimed that no criminal suffered for more than a minute with his method.It is unclear when pole hanging ceased although it was definitely in use until after the end of World War II and was used on various war criminals.A video of the hanging of Karl Hermann Frank which took place on the 22nd of May 1946 in Pragues Pankrc prison is currently available on YouTube.He was lifted up to the top of the pole by a sling and then dropped about a meter, the hangman covering Franks face with his hand. This film clearly demonstrates how pole hanging worked and does not give the impression that Frank struggled after suspension.There are also photos of the execution of Serbs by the Austrians during the war.Milada Horakova (female) who was convicted of treason by the communist regime in Czechoslovakia suffered this death when she was hanged on 27th of June 1950.It has been rumoured that her executioner was ordered to let the bitch suffocate.
After the end of World War II, Albert Pierrepoint hanged eight men at Graz-Karlau in Austria for civilian crimes (murder, rape & plundering). They were executed under British (occupation) jurisdiction but it would seem that pole hanging returned for the last few executions carried out under Austrian jurisdiction.The last took place on the 24th of March 1950 when Johann Trnka was hanged for murder.Czechoslovakia used pole hanging up to 1954 after which all executions took place within Pragues Pankrc prison or in Bratislava from 1968 to 1989.The Pankrc execution chamber had a metal hook for the noose and a trap door over an 80 x 80 x 80 cm pit.This still allowed only a short drop and death was officially recorded as suffocation from strangulation.It is not known whether Hungary continued to use pole hanging or a more conventional gallows. Czechoslovakias last execution was in 1989 and Hungarys in 1988.