More fun with the Tudor times!
In 1541, Margaret, Countess of Salisbury, refused to lay her head on the chopping block and had to be chased around tower green by the executioner who hacked her to death. She was 71 at the time.
James, Duke of Monmouth, paid the executioner six guineas to do the job correctly, as he had heard that Jack, the executioner had taken 4-5 blows to dispatch his Lord Russell. Jack was so nervous that the first strike only grazed the back of the Duke's head. The Duke actually turned to glare at his executioner. Two more blows did not sever the Duke's head and Jack offered 40 guineas to anyone in the crowd who could do better. The sherrif of Middlesex told Jack that he would have him killed if he didn't finish the job. After two more blows with the axe failed, Jack had to pull his knife and finish the job.
John Bartendale, a traveling minstrel, was convicted of felony and hanged for an hour until people thought he was dead. A passerby later on noticed earth moving where he had been buried and dug him up. Apparently he sat up upon being revived and asked where he was!