With the judge's final words, the two young men were led out the side doors and to the courtyard. Barely able to walk in their foot and hand cuffs, Mike and Aaron were prodded out the doors and into the massive courtyard, where the punishment platforms were ready and a crowd had already gathered.
Mike tried not to make eye contact with anyone, but he couldn't help seeing so many of his friends and acquaintances. Many of his school buddies were there to see him whipped, along with teachers, friends, and parents. Mike's stepdad took a place in the front, standing alongside Aaron's parents and his two older brothers.
Aaron and Mike reached the top of the middle platform and were made to face the audience, which probably numbered 200 or more people. The warden of the jail followed them up the stairs. He was a frightening looking man, all meat and muscle. He was dressed all in black, and a hideous looking, three-stranded whip dangled from his wide uniform belt.
Aaron would receive his whipping first, then Mike. After the whippings, Aaron would be given a brief recuperation time (about 1/2 hour) after which his penis would be impaled. The punishments were always handled quickly and efficiently, and the crowd always cheered.
The warden quieted the audience, and then spoke. "Ladies and gentlemen of Perry, the two young men before you have been convicted of the hideous crime of buggery, and will be punished in accordance with the laws of the land. Let the punishment commence!"
Swiftly, three guards grabbed Aaron by the crooks of his restrained arms, and led him to the flogging post. It was a huge edifice, a stout log driven into the ground with a wooden crosspiece about 6 feet above the platform. The crowd cheered as Aaron was uncuffed, and his shirt was pulled out of his trousers and up over his head. Aaron pleaded and fought helplessly against the guards, but he was no match for them.
Aaron's armed were upstretched, and his wrists were cinched tightly by two leather straps on the crossbeam. Now he was barely on his tiptoes, his body stretched long and his back bared for his punishment. Then his ankles were bound to leather straps which were secured to the platform, about 1 1/2 feet on each side of the post. One of the beefy guards reached around Aaron's waist and pulled his belt in tighter - this was to prevent his pants from falling down due to Aaron's struggling during the whipping. As was custom, the first half of every whipping was delivered to the back only. Aaron's pants and boxers would be dropped for the second half.
The guards signaled to the warden that the prisoner was well restrained. The warden then calmly took his whip from his belt, swished it around a few times, and taking his stance, let go with the first lash.
to be continued..............