They also left mental scars. Frederick Douglass, the famed orator and escaped slave remembered the use of whipping in the narrative of his life. He writes of a female cohort, "The louder she screamed, the harder he whipped; and where the blood ran fastest, there he whipped longest. He would whip her to make her scream, and whip her to make her hush; and not until overcome by fatigue, would he cease to swing the bloodclotted cowskin" (Douglass 4). This type of punishment may break down the victim, but it can also create a deep and abiding need for revenge. It can also create hatred and a deep-seated desire to be free of the tormentor. Eventually Douglass ran away from his cruel master and escaped to the North, where he remained a free man and dedicated his life to the abolition of slavery and the cruelty it represented.

             Branding can also leave physical and emotional scars. Branding is done as a way to "mark" a victim forever and show the world their indiscretion. They can never escape the mark, and their lives are forever marred by the punishment and the result. Branding is painful when it is initially used, but it can be far more emotionally painful later, long after the incident has passed.

             Another form of punishment that can be dangerous and extremely painful is chemical punishment. Many stories exist of perpetrators spraying their victims with pepper spray, bleach, or lye to disfigure them and cause them pain. Sometimes these chemicals do not do permanent damage, but sometimes they can cause burns and scars that never heal. This type of torture is often used to elicit confessions or intelligence out of prisoners. One study on American prisons shows this is a common practice in many. A London reporter writes, "'They usually use fire extinguisher size canisters of pepper spray,' lawyer Christopher Jones explained. 'We have had prisoners who have had second degree burns all over their bodies.