Legal Definitions - gibbet

Definition: A gibbet is a post with one arm extending from the top, used historically for executing criminals by hanging or suspending their bodies after death as a warning to others. It is a type of gallows. A double gibbet has two arms extending from the top, resembling a capital "T."

• In medieval times, a gibbet was often used to publicly execute criminals.
• The infamous pirate Blackbeard was beheaded and his head was hung from a gibbet in Virginia as a warning to other pirates.
• A double gibbet was erected in the town square to display the bodies of two convicted murderers.

The examples illustrate how a gibbet was used historically as a form of punishment and as a warning to others. The use of a gibbet was meant to deter others from committing crimes by displaying the consequences of their actions in a public and gruesome manner.