| Self Strangling Garrote | |
|---|---|
|
Origin |
Iberian Peninusla |
|
Type |
Garrote |
|
Effects |
Chokes user |
|
Downsides |
Continues tightening even when loosened |
|
Activation |
Pulling handles |
|
Collected by |
Warehouse 12 |
|
Section |
|
|
Date of Collection |
May 17, 1908 |
| [Source] | |
Origin[]
A garrote is a weapon and a method of capital punishment. It consists of a handheld ligature of chain, rope, scarf, wire or fishing line, used to strangle a person.
Since World War II, the garrote has been regularly employed as a weapon by soldiers as a silent means of killing sentries and other enemy personnel. Instruction in the use of purpose-built and improvised garrottes is included in the training of many elite military units and special forces. A typical military garrote consists of two wooden handles attached to a length of flexible wire; the wire is looped over a sentry's head and pulled taut in one motion.
Garrote-like assassination techniques were widely employed in 17th- and 18th-century India, particularly by the Thuggee cult. Practitioners used a yellow silk or cloth scarf called a rumāl.The Indian version of the garrote frequently incorporates a knot at the center intended to aid in crushing the larynx, decreasing the communication capabilities of the victim, while someone applies pressure to the victim's back, usually using a foot or knee.
The garrote (Latin: laqueus) is known to have been used in the first century BC in Rome. It is referred to in accounts of the Second Catilinian Conspiracy, where conspirators including Publius Cornelius Lentulus Sura were strangled with a laqueus in the Tullianum. It was also used in the Middle Ages in Spain and Portugal. It was employed during the conquista of the Americas, notably in the execution of the Inca emperor Atahualpa. It was intended as a more merciful form of execution than death by burning, where heretics who converted to Christianity after their conviction would receive a quick strangulation from the Spanish Inquisition.
In the Ottoman Empire, execution by strangulation was reserved for very high officials and members of the ruling family. Unlike the Spanish version, a bowstring was used instead of a tightening collar. During the Peninsular War of 1808–1814, French forces regularly used the garrote to execute Spanish guerrilleros, priests, and other opponents of Napoleonic rule.
Effects[]
Effectively chokes the user when both handles are pulled to make the cord tighten. Continues even after loosened or dropped. Only known methods to deactivate it are speaking loudly, which is difficult in the active state, or have another declare the user innocent.