Stoned!

Growing up, when I heard or read from the Bible that someone was "stoned," I pictured an angry mob surrounding a criminal/victim chunking stones at them, blow after blow until the accused was dead. As the years have gone by and I've studied further, I have come across other possible options for the term "stoned" from that time era. I'm not saying one way is correct. I'm simply asking a question about what do "you" think is correct.

Option 1

The criminal/victim was chained or bound to a wall or post. Executioners (people casting stones) surrounded the criminal/victim or lined up infront of him and simply threw stones, brutally executing the accused.

Option 2

Some believe that in that time period, a criminal/victim was laid on his back on the ground. His arms and legs bound. His body stretched out tight as the hands and feet were firmly pulled in opposite directions. While in the position, a flat board of some sort was placed on the criminal/victim's chest. At this point 2 or 3 men would begin to slowly stack large stones on this board. The criminal/victim would, in short time, be smashed/pressed to death by the weight. This was known as being "pressed" to death or a.k.a. "stoned" to death as it's referred to.

Option 3

The criminal/victim was buried in the ground up to their head. With just a head being exposed from the ground, the criminal/victim could not struggle or move and the target was clear. Executioners would then cast away, smashing the skull of the criminal/victim.

Option 4

In this time era there were professional slingers that could sling a baseball sized stone at over 60mph with amazing precisicion. These slingers could often hit a target over 400 yards away. Just as terrorist execute some victims today by bounding them to a post and shooting them, maybe there were executioners back then that acted in a similar manner. Maybe the criminal/victim was bound to a post while about 3 or 4 professional executioners lined up infront of him and fired away, each stone delivering 60mph impact, crushing, smashing and breaking the head and torso of the criminal/victim... all at once, each with a lethal blow.

The evidence that option 1 is correct is that in the Bible, Jesus says to the people that he who is without sin, cast the first stone.

I'm not pointing out that any of the above is the 100% factual way that stoning executions took place. Maybe they all have happened in time. I'm not sure. I'm leaning toward option 1 but again, maybe all 4 options have taken place.

What do you think?