And just when you thought it was over … more video of Saddam’s death has emerged. This time, the video shows Saddam being wheeled away post-mortem. A particularly nasty gash on his neck is the video’s main focus.
(obviously, you have been implicitly warned that this video is graphic)
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-233844812484249985
There was some question as to whether the gash was caused by an intentional puncture after the hanging took place. One can’t say what happened with 100% accuracy (a continuous video of the proceedings has yet to surface) but the injury was probably caused by the rope when the noose tightened. If you look at the original hanging video, Saddam was initially standing on gallows but could be clearly photographed beneath the gallows after execution. This implies that the 6’2 Hussein fell at least 6 feet and 7 inches before the noose tightened.
A drop of this length qualifies the execution as a so-called “long dropâ€, when the force from the sudden change in acceleration once the rope tightens (which is a function of body mass, distance traveled and gravity) should ideally snap the neck, removing nearly all sensation and creating a “humane†death. According to the 1913 “Drop Tables†–created to advise hangmen how far subjects should drop in order to cause a near-instantaneous death- the 210lb Saddam Hussein could have snapped his neck after a mere 5 foot drop. Any longer of a drop would risk decapitation, which is probably what nearly happened in this case.
Perhaps we’ll just end this morbid line of reasoning here 
http://www.indierockcafe.com
There is also a story that Iranian TV reported that Saddam Hussein made an escape pact with the U.S. shortly before his execution.
One of their heads popped off.
Cool, eh?