Hi Kristina,

I know that you asked this quite some time ago. You may have already looked at this, but one of the most quoted articles on biology of executions (including beheading) was published in New Scientist by Harold Hillman in Oct 27, 1983. I am only able to locate a link to the article via Google Books:

https://books.google.com.au/books?id=pKU5MXqo4UYC&pg=PA278&lpg=PA278&dq=1983+harold+hillman+new+scientist&source=bl&ots=yQP7r6l_mp&sig=8YkmTyKgOiuVYEf6FfCHt8cCDvo&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj-yoWb3pzMAhUD5aYKHb6CDfUQ6AEIIzAA#v=onepage&q=1983%20harold%20hillman%20new%20scientist&f=false

I know, this is only brief, but it is not likely that science will be able to do this kind of experiments and that's why historical accounts of executions are often quoted in the literature.

There were several accounts of beheadings during French Revolution and from criminal prosecutions, but verifying them might be challenging. There are a couple of blogs that quote these accounts, but you may need to contact the authors to verify the sources:

http://www.aintnowaytogo.com/beheading.htm

http://www.damninteresting.com/lucid-decapitation/

I hope it helps,

Michelle

Thank you Michelle, while I finished the assignment some time ago, I may be tempted to do a followup in the future and use your resource.