guillotines

The guillotine is a device designed to carry out capital punishment by beheading with a rapidly descending blade. It typically features a tall, upright frame, a weighted blade guided along channels, a lunette or neck opening to restrain the condemned, and a release mechanism. When the blade is released, it slides down a controlled track and severs the head in a single, swift motion.

Origin and design: The device is named after Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, who in 1789 proposed a standardized method of execution believed to be more humane than existing practices. The actual mechanism was developed in France by Antoine Louis, with the blade crafted by Tobias Schmidt, and first used in 1792. Although Guillotin did not invent the mechanism, the device bore his name, and the term “guillotine” has since become associated with the method.

Usage and decline: The guillotine was the customary method of execution in France for more than a century, extending through the French Revolution, the Napoleonic era, and beyond. The last execution by guillotine in France occurred in 1977 (Hamida Djandoubi), and the death penalty was abolished in 1981. Variants and similar devices were employed in other countries and contexts, but the French system remains the best known example.

Legacy: The guillotine remains a widely recognized symbol of the French Revolution and state execution. In contemporary discourse it is discussed within historical and ethical debates about punishment, due process, and humaneness; it is no longer in use in France.