11 Jacked-Up Historical Grounds for Execution
![11 Jacked-Up Historical Grounds for Execution](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/8/6/898386_320x180.jpg)
Welcome, dear reader, to a list of the most appallingly ridiculous reasons people and groups have been executed throughout history. From gifts gone wrong sparking a war, to a dentist being killed for saying a mango was like a sweet potato, to a man being executed for having sexual relations with animals, this list is sure to shock and horrify you.
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Throughout the ages, people have been executed for all sorts of reasons, from treason to drug smuggling. But the executions listed here are particularly egregious, as the reasons for them are so absurd and unjust. As you read through the list, you’ll be amazed and appalled at the lengths some would go to in order to punish those they deemed to be wrongdoers.
So, without further ado, let us begin our journey through the dark and twisted history of executions for the most appallingly ridiculous reasons. Prepare yourself for a disturbing, yet fascinating, look at the lengths some will go to in order to enforce their laws and beliefs.
Executions for entertainment.
![CRACKED GROUNDS FOR EXECUTION Watching South 057 Korean TV shows In November 2013, North Korea put to death 80 people for watching South Korean TV shows that had been smuggled in. Apparently, the authorities executed these people in seven cities - it was a nation-wide crackdown.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/2/2/897522.jpg)
Siren Pictures Inc.
Colonist executed for bestiality.
![CRACKED GROUNDS FOR EXECUTION Siring a one-eyed piglet George Spencer, a colonist of New Haven Colony, was put to death in 1642 after he admitted that he had committed the crime of bestiality. A sow of his gave birth to a one-eyed piglet, and Spencer himself had only one good eye, so people got ideas.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/2/3/897523.jpg)
Convicted and executed for a crime he didn't commit.
![CRACKED GROUNDS FOR EXECUTION Starting a fire (without actually being there) Robert Hubert confessed to starting the Great Fire of London in 1666, even though he arrived in England two days after it began, and was too weak to throw a firebomb. Не was convicted and put to death by hanging.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/2/1/897521.jpg)
Devoted Catholic, Punished by Death.
![CRACKED GROUNDS FOR EXECUTION Harboring priests Margaret Clitherow was a very devoted Catholic from York, England. In 1586, she was put to death for not agreeing to be judged by a jury (and for harboring Catholic priests, which could be punished by death according to a law passed just five years earlier).](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/1/7/897517.jpg)
Gifts gone wrong.
![CRACKED GROUNDS FOR EXECUTION Showing off the wrong purses Back in 1314, Isabella of France gave two silk purses as gifts to her sisters-in-law. They gave them to knights they were hooking up with (very illicitly), and the knights carried them in public, which ultimately got them executed in gruesome ways.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/1/6/897516.jpg)
Creaturely passions punished.
![CRACKED GROUNDS FOR EXECUTION Smuggling two pounds of weed Singaporean Tangaraju Suppiah was put to death for planning to smuggle 2.2 pounds of marijuana, despite his family, supporters, and the UN all asking for mercy.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/1/8/897518.jpg)
Mango-gate: deadly serious.
![CRACKED GROUNDS FOR EXECUTION Comparing mangoes to sweet potatoes In a small village in China during the Cultural Revolution, a dentist was put on trial and killed for saying a mango was like a sweet potato while a group of visitors were there.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/1/9/897519.jpg)
Creaturely passions punished.
![CRACKED GROUNDS FOR EXECUTION Boning half the animal kingdom In 1642, Thomas Granger was put to death in the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts, for having sexual relations with a turkey, a horse, a cow, two goats, five sheep, two calves, and other creatures.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/1/5/897515.jpg)
Tax evasion: not worth it.
![CRACKED A A GROUNDS FOR EXECUTION Forging an ace of spades In 1805, Richard Harding, a card-maker in the UK, was put to death by hanging for faking the stamp on the ace of spades in order to avoid paying taxes on a deck of playing cards.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/2/0/897520.jpg)
King Cao Cao: 1, Hua Tuo: 0.
![CRACKED GROUNDS FOR EXECUTION Suggesting surgery to a king In the third century, the Chinese doctor Hua Tuo was killed by King Cao Cao of Wei after the king got mad and thought that his enemies had paid Hua Tuo to murder him. Hua Tuo had simply suggested surgery to cure the king's dizziness.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/1/3/897513.jpg)
Greed kills.
![CRACKED 00 GROUNDS FOR EXECUTION 100 Taking bribes 100 (in the 21st century) 100 In 2011, two Chinese officials were put to death for taking a huge amount of money in bribes and embezzled funds - almost 300 million yuan, which is equivalent to around $46 million.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/1/4/897514.jpg)