
I have a contender.
Sisamenes was a judge in the Persian Empire, under King Cambyses II.
He wasn’t a good judge, in fact he was incredibly corrupt. Now it’s important to note that Persians considered telling lies to be a major lapse in morality, and as such it was punished severely. No exceptions were made for Sisamenes…
Probably dragged from his home or place of work, he was imprisoned and whipped. Eventually the skin began to rip from his flesh, and his captures peeled the rest off his squirming body.
At this point he probably died in agony and severely regreting his dishonestly, if he could even think clearly. But, this was not the end of his journey.
The strips of skin were treated to make into leather, and he was used to craft the seat of a judge’s chair. This chair was then placed in court to serve as a warning to whoever next sat in it.
The next judge who used that seat was the son of Sisamenes, forced to sit in a chair made from the skin of his tortured father.
Tragic, brutal and definitely a deterrent for corruption…

