Monday, December 17, 2007

Getting the Chop

Surprisingly, it’s only just over 30 years since the guillotine was last used to executive someone. The date - September 10, 1977; the executed – Tunisian immigrant Hamida Djandoubi who killed his girlfriend (name not recorded in the report I read) because she had reported to the authorities that he had tried to force her into prostitution. But despite its place in France’s history, it appears that the guillotine was not native to there, and was certainly not the preferred method of execution before the Revolution. Prior to that it was “breaking on the wheel” which is gruesome enough that I’m not going to give details, but which you can find at Wikipedia if you’ve a mind (and stomach) to.

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