Did Jack try to decapitate

[jonwilson]

some of his victims? Read this article I found.

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.mysterioustimes.net/images/JTR_DearBossletterJacktheRipper_PubDomain.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.mysterioustimes.net/doc/PageView.php%3Fpg%3D11&h=945&w=689&sz=102&tbnid=64z4lQ7cPKMgZM:&tbnh=264&tbnw=192&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dalice%2Bmckenzie&hl=en&usg=__O_hFWrY_vQwWV0gd1e173qZSU_0=&ei=v6QaS5_vHYeVtgfDxMTiAw&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=3&ct=image&ved=0CAwQ9QEwAg

Jack the Ripper cut around and attempted to remove the head of Polly Nichols, Annie Chapman, and Mary Kelly. He was unsuccessful in each case, probably because he set a time limit to reduce the change of unexpected interruptions, and he walked away when the time had elapsed. Although his knife was quite capable of ripping through tough tissue, it proved insufficient when separating the vertebrae of the knife and the surrounding elements.

Interesting to say the least.

[jonwilson]

Also,

Did the Ripper have special anatomical knowledge or surgical ability?
Generally, surgeons who viewed the killer's victims at the crime scene felt he had a great deal of anatomical knowledge and some experience in butchering with a knife. Surgeons who handled the bodies of the victims in the mortuary were not as sure. However, we can answer that question by looking at what the Ripper did and how he did it.

The Ripper used a long, sharp knife, but he did not just cut anywhere; autopsy surgeons repeatedly pointed out that there were no extraneous cuts, meaning every cut had a purpose and was set just where the person wielding the knife intended it to be. No damage was done to the surrounding tissue when organs were removed. That does not sound remarkable unless you put it into the context of the time and place; in the first two murders (Nichols and Chapman), the Ripper worked in near-total darkness, yet had no difficulty in identifying organs and removing them without damage. Today, even with our anatomy training and rudimentary health knowledge, the average person would probably be unable to do that, let alone do it in a short time with the constant threat of discovery.

In Catherine Eddowes` murder, he removed the uterus and one kidney. Even today, finding that kidney would not be easy, yet the killer found it and removed it. The killer had some light for Eddowes` butchering, but not a great deal; it would still have been difficult to do. The theory that the killer just happened on the kidney is improbable; it would have been difficult to find even if the killer was looking for it. It was also very important to note that the killer was probably working within a very short time limit, and had only a few minutes to find and remove the kidney. It is probable that he had decided to remove one before he targeted and killed his victim.

You must remember the Ripper was working in near-complete darkness, butchering a body in a public site where could be discovered at any time, and probably limited by a time constraint he had set. He had to watch his own back at the same time he was working on the body. He probably was watching the time, knowing that police patrols or other chance individuals might show up at any time. He performed these dissections quickly, even savagely, with no improper cuts or damaged tissue and in bad lighting or in near darkness. He must have been practiced in that sort of thing, so it would have been reasonable for him to have worked as a slaughterman or butcher at the time.

[The Grave Maurice]

Well I don't know. How much faith can you put in an article that starts out talking about "James McNaughton"? I have always attributed the nicks on the vertebrae to enthusiastic knife-wielding. It seems to me that if JtR had decapitation in mind, after the first or second attempt he would have stuck a small hatchet down his trousers when he went out.