In the early modern period, a criminal procedure law developed in the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel, as well as in other German territories, which prosecuted a variety of offenses from the state side and punished them according to a sophisticated catalog of honor, corporal, and capital punishments. The executioner served as an appointed enforcer of the law. In Hesse-Kassel, he also held the position of the master of the dead (the one responsible for disposing of bodies). Through extensive source material, his areas of activity in criminal enforcement, the disposal of bodies, and medicine are examined. Another focus is on the social environment and societal status of the executioner. A look at the evolution of the profession since the late 18th century connects to the present.