Bill Durks

Bill Durks was born April 17, 1913 to “normal” parents, but one look at Bill, and you knew he was different. Bill was born with frontonasal dysplasia. Now, people recognize children born with a cleft palate. There are surgical treatments and many children born with the affliction go on to live normal lives. Frontonasal dysplasia … Continue reading Bill Durks →

Scaphism

Also called The Boats, Scaphism is a form of torturous execution. The most famous account of Scaphism is the story of Mithridates. In 401 BC, Mithridates, a Persian soldier, killed Cyrus the Younger. The king was pleased by this because Cyrus had claim to the throne. Mithridates had killed a threat to the king and … Continue reading Scaphism →

Rat Torture

In Elizabethan England, if you needed to torture a man, there was a cheap and easy method available. The Tower of London was right there. Just let the Thames River flow into a window and create something called the Rat Room. Rats were washed into the room and when the water went down, the rats … Continue reading Rat Torture →

Tucker Telephone

Before Winthrop Rockefeller became governor of Arkansas in 1966 and instituted prison reform, the Arkansas prison system was a dangerous place for inmates. It was legal to whip prisoners in Arkansas, but they were regularly beaten and tortured by guards who shot at them for fun. There were stories of prison trusties who put needles … Continue reading Tucker Telephone →

Dead Man Standing

In 2008, 24 year old Angel Pantojas was killed. He was shot 11 times and thrown off a bridge in San Juan, Puerto Rico. His family remembered something that Angel had said at his father’s funeral when he was just 6 years old, “Not me. At my wake, people will see me on my feet.” … Continue reading Dead Man Standing →