In Europe, drowning was used as capital punishment. In fact, during the Middle Ages, a sentence of death was read using the words "cum fossa et furca," or "with drowning-pit and gallows." Furthermore, drowning was used as a way to determine if a woman was a witch. The idea was that witches would float and innocent women would drown. It is understood that drowning was used as the least brutal form of execution, and was therefore reserved primarily for women, although favorable men were executed in this way as well.
But Have you seen that video of the guy who (fake) drowns himself as performance art? Here are some Pics:
