Although generally lucidity lasts about 30 seconds, many are of the opinion that a person will lose consciousness immediately after being beheaded due to a massive drop in blood pressure in the brain.
But there are countless eyewitness reports in history describing a few seconds of apparent awareness in the victim.
For example, Languille, a convicted murderer who was guillotined in France, was observed by Dr. Beaurieux during his execution at 5:30 am on June 28th, 1905.
Beaurieux made the following observation: "The face relaxed, the lids half closed on the eyeballs, leaving only the white of the conjunctiva visible... It was then that I called in a strong, sharp voice: 'Languille!' I saw the eyelids slowly lift up, without any spasmodic contractions ... Next Languille's eyes very definitely fixed themselves on mine and the pupils focused themselves…"
A more recent account tells of an accidental decapitation in an automobile in 1989: "The facial expressions he (the victim) displayed were first of shock or confusion, followed by terror or grief. I cannot exaggerate and say that he was looking all around, but he did display ocular movement in that his eyes moved from me, to his body, and back to me."
