Force
Forca is an instrument used for execution of prisoners or defendants sentenced to death, as well as for murders or suicides. It is composed of a wooden pole with a rope tied in the form of a bow. The executioner is placed on a table or chair, trapdoor or vehicle, and the loop is placed around his neck; then that which is underfoot is removed. The rope can not be too short or too long, so that the condemned can execute quickly and cleanly. If the cord is ideally sized, a rupture of the cervical vertebrae may occur, and the section of the spinal cord causing a cessation of respiratory function and thus rapid death. On the other hand, if it is excessively long, it may cause the condemned to be beheaded. If the cervical vertebrae do not rupture, the convict dies from asphyxia caused by the loop, both by respiratory obstruction and obstruction of the jugular veins and carotid arteries. Death will be slow and painful.