Cucking stools or ducking stools were chairs formerly used for punishment of disorderly women, scolds, and dishonest tradesmen in England, Scotland, and elsewhere. The cucking-stool was a form of wymen pine, or "women's punishment," as referred to in Langland's Piers Plowman.

How does a ducking stool work?

DUCKING STOOL, an armchair used for punishing certain offenders, including witches, scolds, and prostitutes. The offender was strapped into a sturdy chair, which was fastened to a long wooden beam fixed as a seesaw on the edge of a pond or stream, where the offender was immersed.

Did people drown on the ducking stool?

The consequences of the ducking stool were far more severe. ... The chair was attached to a long wooden beam, usually located alongside a pond or river, and was lowered into the water. Repeated duckings routinely proved fatal, the victim dying of shock or drowning.