On this day in 1972, the last execution by guillotine took place

During the French Revolution, when the guillotine was first used (incidentally, contrary to legend, Joseph Guillotin, after whom the guillotine was named, was not its inventor—he merely proposed its use), this execution instrument was considered humane.

After all, executions with it lasted virtually a second, whereas previously, the executioner had beheaded slowly and often clumsily. Incidentally, again contrary to popular belief, this method of execution existed in Europe for quite a long time—for example, in Germany until 1936. Those who watched the German TV series "Babylon Berlin" may recall the scene where the executioner rides to the execution site in a traditional black suit and bowler hat, carrying his axe in its case as solemnly as a violinist carries his violin.

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Incidentally, there's one significant circumstance here: the execution took place in the prison courtyard. Unlike, for example, in France, guillotinings were public until June 17, 1939, when a man who had murdered seven people was beheaded. The crowd's behavior was so exalted (for example, there was a belief that if a woman soaked her handkerchief in the murdered man's blood immediately after the execution, she would be cured of childlessness) that public executions were abolished.

However, they continued in prison courtyards. For example, on November 28, 1972, in the courtyard of the Parisian prison Santé (the same one from which Nicolas Sarkozy was recently released), two prisoners were executed. They had previously brutally murdered (by slitting the throats) a guard and a nurse, whom they had taken hostage, during an escape attempt.

After this, the guillotine became a museum exhibit in Paris—but not in France as a whole, where a Tunisian-born murderer and pimp who tortured his victims and even his prostitutes was guillotined in a Marseille prison courtyard on September 10, 1977. That day marked the last time the guillotine was used worldwide.

In any case, in 1981, the death penalty was abolished in France. This was done by the country's Socialist president, François Mitterrand, fulfilling his campaign promise. Incidentally, 77% of the French people were against abolition at the time.

Photo: Santé Prison Wikipedia