| Noose | |
|---|---|
 A noose knot tied in kernmantle rope | |
| Names | Noose, running knot |
| Category | Loop |
| Related | slip knot,overhand knot,double overhand noose,hangman's knot,running bowline,arbor knot |
| Releasing | Non-jamming |
| Typical use | Animal snares, knitting,hanging device, self tightening end loop |
| ABoK | #1114,[1] #1803, #1789, #8, #43, #1825 |
Anoose is a loop at the end of arope in which theknot tightens under load and can be loosened without untying the knot. The knot can be used to secure a rope to a post, pole, or animal but only where the end is in a position that the loop can be passed over.
The knot is tied by forming aturn in the end of a rope, and then passing a bight in thestanding part through. The noose knot is a slipped version of theoverhand knot.
The knot most closely associated withexecution is thehangman's knot, which is also known as the "hangman's noose". Tying is similar to the original noose, but many turns are wrapped around the loop. The reason for this was to make the hanging more humane, as it would break the person's neck, killing the person instantly, rather than strangling them to death. A similar method is also commonly used forsuicide. Search engines such asGoogle provide the number of asuicide helpline if a search for "how to tie a noose" is made.[2]
In the United States, a noose is sometimes left as a message in order to intimidate people, as it was the main object used insegregation eralynchings.[3][4] In 2022, abill to makelynching a federalhate crime was passed.[5] It is illegal to display a noose in a threatening manner inVirginia,[6]New York andConnecticut.[7]
Austin Reed Edenfield, a former student of theUniversity of Mississippi, pled guilty in 2016 to a federal civil-rights crime, acknowledging that he and Graeme Phillip Harris had tied a noose and aflag of Georgia around the neck of a statue honoringJames Meredith, the university's first African-American student.[8] Harris was sentenced to prison and Edenfield toprobation andcommunity service.[9]
In September 2019, Andrew M. Smith, aUniversity of Illinois student, was arrested for placing a noose in a campus elevator. "The incident [came] just months after black employees filed a class-action lawsuit against the campus, alleging they faced racial harassment and were exposed to threats ofracial violence, such as nooses,swastikas,KKK garb, racistgraffiti, andconfederate flags."[10] He was sentenced to supervision,public service, and a $75 fine.[11]
In November 2022, a noose was found on anObama Presidential Center construction site.[12]
In July 2020 a garage assigned toAfrican-AmericanNASCAR driverBubba Wallace had been found to contain a "garage door pull rope fashioned like a noose". After the discovery, which was made by a crew member forRichard Petty Motorsports at theAlabama racetrack, NASCAR was alerted and contacted theFBI, which sent 15 agents to the track to investigate. After the FBI investigation the authorities said the rope had been hanging there since last fall and thus was not a hate crime targeting Wallace. The agencies said no crime was committed and the evidence did not support federal charges.[13][14] The actions of NASCAR, especially NASCAR president Steve Phelps's claim of it being ahate crime without investigation have been criticized.[15]Holman W. Jenkins Jr. onThe Wall Street Journal claimed the controversy and media furor concerning the incident could have been prevented by not contacting the FBI and NASCAR authorities quickly checking the video surveillance by themselves, since NASCAR already tightly controls and surveils access to its garages.[16]
