etna87: Which party is equivalent to being shot? I can see a clear advantage here, since the shock will hopefully ease the pain until it's all over, which should not take long -
whereas hanging means a painful choking death. bevinator: A properly constructed noose and a properly constructed gallows will snap your neck rather than strangling you, which makes it far preferable to being shot. In the days when hanging was more common, if a man actually suffocated it was considered shameful for the executioner. Of course, if you're shot in the stomach it can take hours or days to actually die, while a headshot is much faster. So I guess it would depend on the competence of the folks involved in both cases.
I must admit I briefly considered the possibility of your neck snapping, but then decided to be ignorant and remembered that I had never seen a neck snap in a movie hanging. Not enough drama involved, I guess. After writing my post, I also wondered how painful choking really is - probably painful only for a short time, before losing consciousness, but... oh well, this whole discussion is pretty pointless ;-)