What is the term for the ceremony where Handmaids stone a prisoner to death?

The execution ceremony in which Handmaids stone a condemned prisoner is called a Particicution.

The word is a portmanteau of “participation” and “execution.” In Gilead, Handmaids are assembled and encouraged to attack a prisoner with their bare hands, turning state violence into a ritual of forced collective participation.

Particicution is related to, but distinct from, a Salvaging. Salvaging is Gilead’s broader term for public executions, including hangings and other official punishments. A Particicution specifically describes the execution carried out by the Handmaids themselves.

In the novel, Aunt Lydia presents the condemned man as a rapist whose attack caused a pregnant Handmaid to miscarry. The accusation is designed to trigger the women’s anger, although the regime’s official explanations are not necessarily trustworthy. The television series adapts the ritual and later uses it in a major act of revenge against Fred Waterford.