Guillotine

Few devices conjure up images of a swift and bloody death like the sight of a guillotine. The contraption became commonly used as an instrument for execution during the French Revolution.

The guillotine was championed by Dr. Joseph-Ignace Guillotin as an effective and humane method of carrying out a death sentence for people of all social classes in France. Dr. Guillotin was part of a committee commissioned with the task of selecting a form of capital punishment that would not inflict pain, yet would gain the fear and respect of all people. He drew a rendering of a machine that would behead a victim when a large blade was dropped quickly over the condemned person's neck. The basic concept of this device was not new. Similar equipment had been used for years in other countries, but Dr. Guillotin had created an advanced version that would bring about a faster and more reliable execution. His suggestion was rejected.

People all across France were calling for a less brutal and more dignified form of capital punishment, and many supported the use of what would soon become known as the guillotine. Engineers began to work on the first model and in 1792, Nicholas-Jacques Pelletier became the first person to be put to death with a guillotine.

France was in a state of political upheaval and revolution between 1793 and 1794. The King and Queen were executed, and the newly formed Committee of Public Safety took charge of the government under the leadership of Maximilien Robespierre. Robespierre led the committee to execute thousands of people for anything he considered to be a "crime against liberty." People were sent to the guillotine without trial and often with very little apparent cause. The word of Robespierre was enough for any person to be sentenced to death. This period of time became known as the "Reign of Terror."

By 1794, Robespierre was considered to be a threat to the nation, and he was thrown out of power and put to death by the same device to which he had sent countless others. The terror was over, but the guillotine continued to be used on French prisoners until 1939, when a murderer named Eugène Weidmann became the last person to be put to death in this way. Guillotines were still considered to be a valid method of execution in France until 1981, when capital punishment was officially abolished.

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