Has anyone ever survived an execution long enough to tell the tale?

 

Imagine living to the age of 85 with the title of the “executed one.” Wenseslao Moguel was set to be executed by firing squad. In 1915, he was caught by the Mexican authorities and sentenced to death without trial for taking part in the Mexican Revolution.

He was shot nine times, and he even received the “Coup de Grace,” one shot to the head at point-blank range and survived. Some say he was rescued when they found him amongst the rotten corpses of other executed rebels still breathing. Others say he escaped while severely injured after the firing squad had left, and he was taken in by people sympathetic to the cause until he recuperated.

He was nicknamed the “El Fusilado,” which is Spanish for the executed one. Although he was severely disfigured from the gunshot to the head, he managed to live until he was 85. He even featured on Ripley's Believe or Not.