John the Baptist was beheaded by order of Herod Antipas (Mark 6: 27), and, probably, the apostle James by Herod Agrippa (Acts 12: 2), but it was not the form of capital punishment permitted in the Jewish Law, which was stoning (Lev. 20: 27).
Citation for beheading
Citation styles are based on the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th Ed., and the MLA Style Manual, 2nd Ed..
MLA
"beheading." In A Dictionary of the Bible. Ed. W. R. F. Browning. Oxford Biblical Studies Online. May 22, 2013. <http://www.oxfordbiblicalcstudies.com/article/opr/t94/e247>.
Chicago
"beheading." In A Dictionary of the Bible. , edited by W. R. F. Browning. Oxford Biblical Studies Online, http://www.oxfordbiblicalcstudies.com/article/opr/t94/e247 (accessed May 22, 2013).