When we talk about the 10 executions first that left a mark on humanity, we’re diving into a macabre timeline of punishments that were as groundbreaking as they were brutal. From ancient beheadings to the sleek lethal injection chair, each case set a precedent that would echo through legal systems for centuries.
10 executions first: A Grim Timeline
10 Priscillian
Priscillian, a fiercely ascetic priest who dabbled in Manichaeism—a belief system that clashed with early Christianity—found himself at the crossroads of faith and politics. Emperor Maximus, eager to stamp out what he deemed heretical, ordered Priscillian’s beheading, marking the earliest documented instance of a state‑sanctioned execution for heresy.
This case also inaugurated the uneasy partnership between church and state in prosecuting religious dissent. The precedent would reverberate for centuries, providing a legal template for crushing both spiritual and political rebels alike.
9 William Maurice
Pirate William Maurice earned the grim distinction of being the first recorded soul to endure the full horror of being hanged, drawn, and quartered. The punishment was essentially engineered for him, a terrifying showcase of medieval justice.
Picture the iconic scene from Braveheart—the agonizing tableau of a man on a table, his entrails exposed, his genitals torched. That’s the level of brutality Maurice faced, with the “drawn” portion actually occurring first: he was dragged by horses to the execution platform, where the disembowelment took place.
After the gruesome disembowelment, Maurice’s head was severed, and his corpse was tied to four horses pulling in opposite directions— the classic “quartering.” The macabre display of his limbs around the town became a gruesome spectacle that would be replicated for generations.
8 Unnamed Men In The Netherlands
In 1321, two anonymous men from Egmont, near Amsterdam, were condemned for sodomy and met their end by fire. Their execution represents the first recorded instance of capital punishment for such acts in the northern Netherlands.
7 Agnes Waterhouse
In 1566, Agnes Waterhouse of Chelmsford, England, became the first woman officially executed for witchcraft. Accused of causing the deaths of her husband, neighbor William Fynne, and assorted livestock, her trial also involved her daughter Joan and friend Elizabeth Francis.
Legend has it that Elizabeth introduced Agnes to sorcery by gifting her a cat named Satan. The feline allegedly demonstrated its dark abilities by killing a pig and teaching Agnes the finer points of witchcraft, even transforming into a toad at her command.
Family ties didn’t spare her; Joan testified against her mother, hoping to avoid the same fate. Agnes’s execution by hanging cemented her place in history as the first recorded female witch execution.
6 George Kendall
Captain George Kendall, a member of Jamestown’s inaugural council in 1608, holds the dubious honor of being the first Virginia colonist sentenced to death. After a series of petty disputes among councilmen, John Smith was briefly imprisoned with plans for hanging, but survived.
Kendall’s own crime remains murky, yet it was severe enough to warrant removal from the council and confinement aboard the ship Discovery—Jamestown’s only holding facility at the time.
A crafty blacksmith, facing his own hanging, deflected his fate by accusing Kendall of espionage for Spain. The resulting trial sentenced Kendall to a firing squad execution, making him the first recorded colonial execution by gunfire.
5 Jane Champion
Just fifteen years after Kendall’s demise, Jane Champion became the first woman executed in the American colonies. In 1632, she was convicted of murder—details of the victim and motive have been lost to history—but the verdict was unequivocal: death by hanging.
4 Michael Hammond
In 1708, the English justice system showed little mercy to youth. Seven‑year‑old Michael Hammond, along with his eleven‑year‑old sister Ann, were publicly hanged for the petty crime of stealing a loaf of bread.
Michael’s execution is the earliest documented case of a child being put to death for a felony. The grim spectacle highlighted the era’s harsh stance on theft, regardless of the offender’s age.
3 Nicolas Jacques Pelletier
While England still favored hanging, France was engineering a more “humane” death. Dr. Joseph‑Ignace Guillotin devised a device that would later become synonymous with the French Revolution. After extensive animal testing, the apparatus was deemed ready for a human subject.
In 1792, convicted robber and murderer Nicolas Jacques Pelletier faced the very first execution by guillotine. His head fell cleanly into a wicker basket as onlookers jeered the new method, which promised a swift, less painful demise compared to older punishments.
Despite initial public disapproval, the guillotine would dominate French capital punishment until 1977, cementing its place in history.
2 William Kemmler
In 1890, William Kemmler, a convicted axe‑murderer serving time at Auburn Prison, New York, became the first person to be executed by electrocution. The electric chair, invented by prison electrician Edwin Davis, delivered a lethal jolt through electrodes placed on Kemmler’s head and back.
The initial shock lasted 17 seconds but failed to kill him outright, necessitating a second, two‑minute jolt to complete the execution. Though fraught with technical hiccups, the method was hailed as quicker than hanging and set a new precedent for capital punishment.
1 Charles Brooks Jr.
In 1982, Charles Brooks Jr. became the first person in the United States to be put to death by lethal injection. After a 1976 car‑theft spree that culminated in the fatal shooting of a mechanic, Brooks was sentenced to death, while his accomplice received a lengthy prison term.
On the night of December 7, 1982, a team of twenty witnesses observed the procedure at a Texas prison. At 12:09 AM, Brooks was administered the barbiturate sodium thiopental. He gasped, moved, and within seven minutes—at 12:16 AM—was pronounced dead.