Thus the Republic falls to applause: Death of Kendrick Johnson

[Armonica_Templar]

Google: How long can someone survive being upside down


Can a person die if hung upside down for too long?

Yes, and it is among one of the methods of torturous executions devised by humans. Though no longer practiced, reverse hanging or inverted hanging, was used to make hanging more torturous. 


Hanging as a method of execution is instant, and results in less pain for the executed. But reverse hanging was made more torturous by making the victim turned upright every few hours.  This causes the blood to  again drop to the feet—which is unpleasant at least and painful at  most—and means the victim must again have the sensation of all the blood  pooling in his head once he is again upside down. Once left in the inverted position, death is said to occur in  8-10 hours.

we have a window of opportunity

Death was not instant

Positional asphyxia

Positional asphyxia, also known as postural asphyxia, is a form of asphyxia which occurs when someone's position prevents the person from breathing adequately. Positional asphyxia may be a factor in a significant number of people who die suddenly during restraint by police, prison (corrections) officers or health care staff.[1] Positional asphyxia is also a common cause of death in infants.

• Positional asphyxia is a potential danger of some physical restraint techniques,
  
• People may die from positional asphyxia by simply getting themselves into a breathing-restricted position they cannot get out of, either through the person's own carelessness, as a consequence of another accident, or where infants are placed in a position where the mouth and nose is blocked, or where the chest may be unable to fully expand.
  

Contents
  [hide] 

• 1Prone restraint
  
• 2Other restraint positions
  
• 3Resuscitation
  
• 4Debate regarding positional asphyxia
  
• 5Positional asphyxia due to accident or illness
  
• 6References
  
• 7External links
  

Prone restraint[edit]
Research has suggested that restraining a person in a face down position is likely to cause greater restriction of breathing than restraining a person face up.[2] Multiple cases have been associated with the hogtie or hobble prone restraint position.[3][4] Many law enforcement and health personnel are now taught to avoid restraining people face down or to do so only for a very short period of time.[1]

Risk factors which may increase the chance of death include prolonged (particularly resisted) restraint, obesity, prior cardiac or respiratory problems, and the use of illicit drugs such as cocaine.[5] Other issues in the way the subject is restrained can also increase the risk of death, for example kneeling or otherwise placing weight on the subject and particularly any type of restraint hold around the subject's neck.

Research measuring the effect of restraint positions on lung function suggests that restraint which involves bending the restrained person or placing body weight on them, has more effect on their breathing than face down positioning alone.[6]

Other restraint positions[edit]

Positional asphyxia is not limited to restraint in a face down position. Restraining a person in a seated position may also reduce the ability to breathe, if the person is pushed forwards with the chest on or close to the knees. The risk will be higher in cases where the restrained person has a high body mass index (BMI) and/or large waist girth.[7]

Resuscitation[edit]
Resuscitation of persons who exhibit cardiac arrest following restraint has proven to be difficult. Even in cases where the subject was in the immediate care of paramedics, resuscitation has failed and the subject has died.[8] One group of doctors has presented a method of resuscitation, correcting acidosis in the blood of the victim, which proved effective in their small scale study.[9] This approach appears to be supported by another report of a single case of successful resuscitation.[10]

Debate regarding positional asphyxia[edit]
There is a degree of controversy amongst researchers regarding the extent to which restraint positions restrict breathing. Some researchers report that when they conducted laboratory studies of the effects of restraint on breathing and oxygen levels, the effect was limited.[11] Other researchers point out that deaths in real life situations occur afterprolonged, violent resistance which has not been studied in laboratory simulations.[12]

Positional asphyxia due to accident or illness[edit]
Positional asphyxia may also occur as a result of accident or illness.[13] Olympic track athlete Florence Griffith-Joyner[14] and ex-Major League

Baseball player John Marzano[15]both died due to positional asphyxia, the former following an epileptic seizure and the latter following a fall down a flight of stairs.