As a kid I remember hearing Biblical and other historical stories of people being "stoned" to death. To the extent I ever thought much about this, I suppose I assumed it was done by having a group of people (and angry mob?) surround the victim and toss big rocks at him (or her) until they were dead. This mental image was reinforced in my mind, I suspect, when I first saw images on TV (like the one above) of muslims practicing the ritual of 'Stoning the Devil' during the Hajj in Mecca.
But it turns out that's not actually how its done anymore (if ever), at least not in Iran. NBC News has an article today HERE that explains exactly how it's done now.
As an aside, in 2004 Saudi authorities replaced the three pillars used during the "Stoning the Devil" ritual with an 85 foot high wall, after a series of incidents where pilgrims were injured by the 'crossfire' of rocks thrown by other pilgrims.
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