In 1791, the French physician Jean Guillotine proposed to reform the process of execution

GUILLOTINE

In 1791, the French physician Jean Guillotine proposed to reform the process of execution.

 The goal of this proposition consisted of making beheadings not only a privilege of the nobles, in addition to also carrying out the process as quickly as possible in order to cause the least amount of suffering. After all, in those days, death sentences involved the cruelest of methods: burning at the stake, hanging and quartering. Therefore, there in lay the guillotine.

A special feature of the guillotine comes in the form of sharpening the blade at an angle with weights weighing 40-100kg, enabling it to move unhindered down its vertical runners. Executions were carried out as follows: the convict’s neck was pinned between two boards equipped with access holes, the body laid upon a wooden bench.

After this, the latch holding back the knife is opened via lever mechanism, and the blade falls rapidly toward the victim’s neck from a height of about 2 – 3 meters. The severed head gets lifted and presented to the crowd of spectators. It is believed the offender can still perceive things with his eyes for another 10 seconds after decapitation.

The design of this instrument allows for the death penalty to be carried out every 10 seconds, turning the process into a bloody conveyor belt. During the French Revolution, everyone charged with supporting the aristocracy was subject to immediate beheading, with the victims by means of Guillotine during the “Reign of Terror” numbering between 15-40 thousand citizens.

An interesting fact:

The last execution by guillotine was performed in Marseille, during the reign of Giscard d’Estaing, September 10, 1977. The man executed was Hamida Djandoubi, of Muslim origin. Not only was it the last instance of the guillotine’s use, but also the last death penalty carried out in Western Europe.

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