[katz]

You may be right. If they cut from the back first, then the vital arties and veins would be missed until last.....prolonging his alertness.

[MosesKnows]

If they cut from the back first, then the vital arties and veins would be missed until last.....prolonging his alertness.

The effect from cutting from the back causes just the opposite of what you assumed. Once the spine is severed at the back of the neck there is no nerve path for any sensation of pain to reach the brain. That is why the guillotine is considered the most painless of all methods of execution.