That would be fun to watch though.
The prisoner could be released with a "don't do it again" and a thick ear.
( Bartleby A dead man on vacation, Thu 10 Jun 2010, 15:06, 2 replies, latest was 16 years ago)

Possibly a myth
But they apparently had to change the sentence from "Hanged" to "Hanged from the neck until dead", as someone got them to stop when someone was choking, and said that the sentence had been carried out, so let him go.
( Labia Majora You keep on talking but it makes no sense at all, Thu 10 Jun 2010, 15:08, Reply)

Bastard party pooper.

( Bartleby A dead man on vacation, Thu 10 Jun 2010, 15:10, Reply)

They used to let you go if the trapdoor failed 3 times
(since it was deemed to be an act of God)
Meaning that if you could get hanged after a storm, you had a better chance of survival due to the wood swelling from the moisture.*

*may not be true, only half remembered, probably apocryphal anyway
( Tedium Alduce me to interlow myself., Thu 10 Jun 2010, 15:08, Reply)