Public Execution: Difference between revisions

[[File:hanging_4242hanging 4242.jpg|link=Fire Emblem Tellius|frame|[[Damsel in Distress|Just hangin' around,]] [[Big Damn Heroes|waiting for a rescue...]]]]

[[Public Execution|'''Public Executions]]''' can come about for any number of reasons. They may be performed by a government as punishment for a crime. They may be carried out by a monarch seeking to suppress the plans of political enemies in order to maintain a solid grasp on the throne. Regular [[Public Execution|'''Public Executions]]''' may be broadcast as a kind of spectator sport in a [[Crapsack World]], or in our own world [[Twenty Minutes Into the Future]]. They can even be done on the spur of the moment by an [[Angry Mob]] who manage to get their hands on the source of their ire.

The reaction of the [[In-Universe]] audience for the execution can serve as a reflection of the moral character of the society at that time. A crowd that does nothing but jeer, egg-on the executioner, or even attempt to participate in the killing may indicate that the people of the land are blood-thirsty and crude. On the other hand, shock and horror displayed by those in attendance may be a sign that the populace is undergoing a [[Morality Adjustment]] for the better, and may even be indicative of growing disfavor for the rulers who would carry out such a barbaric spectacle. Conquerors foolish enough to use a [['''Public Execution]]''' to quell the dissent of a [[Martyrdom Culture]] could accidentally provide the last fuel needed to touch off a revolution.

A [['''Public Execution]]''' can also to be used to show the true character of the condemned. A previously unrepentant criminal may become [[The Atoner]] in their final moments, and one who was a [[Badass]] may break down into uncontrolled sobbing and plead for their life. Characters who truly [[Who Wants to Live Forever?|don't fear death]] may treat it as a game, laughing and returning the insults of the crowd, or getting one last jab at the ruling government before they die.

If the executee is one of the good guys, their [['''Public Execution]]''' may be the backdrop for a [[Big Damn Heroes]] moment as their comrades rush in to save the day.

Overlaps with [[Dead Guy on Display]], as a [['''Public Execution]]''' is one of the surest ways to make certain (and assure others) that someone is well and truly dead... if the execution isn't botched, or the prisoner rescued. Can also overlap with [[Deadly Game]], in which the condemned are forced to fight for their lives in gladiatorial or gauntlet style contests.

Note that in order to qualify as an example of [['''Public Execution]]''', the act must be performed in front of a large audience. The modern practice of allowing a handful of witnesses to view an otherwise private execution would not count for the purpose of this trope.

* In the anime adaptation of [[Yoake Mae Yori Ruriiro na]], Mai has a few [[Imagine Spot|Imagine Spots]]s in which she, Sayaka, and Tatsuya are sentenced to public execution by firing squad, or by being boiled alive in a giant cup of tea.

* In the ''[[Castlevania]]'' series, this is the reason behind [[Dracula]]'s ''[[Castlevania: Lament of Innocence|second]]'' [[Start of Darkness|descent into villainy]] (and the beginning of his [[Kill All Humans|war against humanity]]). Sometime prior to [[Castlevania III Draculas Curse|the third game]], the Dark Lord's wife Lisa--aLisa—a medicine woman and healer [[Reincarnation Romance|implied to be the reincarnation of his first wife Elisabetha]]--was—was tried as a witch and burned at the stake (although ''[[Castlevania: Symphony of the Night|SotN]]'' has [[I Hate You, Vampire Dad|his son]] [[Dhampir|Alucard]]'s dream depict this event as Lisa instead being crucified). Drac already [[Faith Heel Turn|had a low opinion of God]]; [[Humans Are Bastards|this didn't help mankind in the long run either.]]

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