About 1,500 spectators crowded onto rooftops and balconies in Tabarjah, near Beirut, to watch two Lebanese be hanged at dawn on Monday, May 25th, 1998.
Wissam Issa and Hassan Jabal had robbed and murdered two sisters while burgling their home. They were brought to hastily erected gallows in the town square, dressed in identical black trousers and white shirts. Neither man was pinioned or hooded.
When the preparations were complete the executioner released the hinged platform on which they were standing. Jabal dropped about four feet but Issa remained teetering on the edge, forcing the executioner to push him off the platform.
The executioner gave each rope a firm yank to ensure the nooses had fully tightened and they were both left hanging for an hour while throngs of people came forward for a close-up view.