Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 7, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 March 1891 — THE GUILLOTINE. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

THE GUILLOTINE.

Description of How They Cut a Man’s Head With the accompanying cut of the guillotine it will be of interest to describe the mode of procedure observed in French executions. As soon as the Chief of the State, President, King or Emperor, as tne case may be, has decided that he will Dot interfere with the course of justice the dossier, or record, is sent to the parquet, which corresponds to the District Attorney’s office here. The Procureur-Geueral de la Republique, who is at the head of this department, then notifies the Prefect of Police, the Chief de la Surete, or Chief of Detectives; the Director of the prison of La Grande Boquette and the executioner, who is at present M. Deibler, that the sentence of death is to be carried out. The executioner at once erects the guillotine, which is euphonistically termed bois de justice (justice’s timbers). Shortly before the fatal hour approaches the officials above named, accompanied by a Juge d’lnstruction (Examining Magistrate)—usually the one before whom the condemned man’s preliminary trial has taken place—enter the doomed man’s cell. The Procureur General is generally represented by a substitute or deputy. The convict is simply told that his appeal for clemency has been rejected. He understands all that that means. He

is then told that he may remain alone with the chaplain for a few minutes, if so he desires it. , He is next taken to the. greffe or record office of the warden of the prison, where takes place the levee de ’ecrou—in other words he is handed over to the executioner, w'ho takes him into an adjoining room, pinions his arms and legs and cuts away his shirt collar. The wretch’s hair has previously been cropped short on his entering the prison. He is then hurried away to the guillotine, which awaits him at a distance of about twenty paces from the prison door, the chapain walking by liis side and the executioner bringing up the rear in the inarch to death. The aids of the executioner hurry their victim along, almost on a trot, 'ill he comes to the bascule or movable plank, which stands facing theVuprights, between the grooves of whicq is toi~drop the fatal knife, which is of triangular shape and heavily leaded, so as to increase its velocity. He is strapped to the plank in the twinkling of an eye, it drops with him, his head being secured in the lunette, or semicircular collar of wood, the executioner presses a spring at the foot of the guillotine and the knife falls. The whole is done with great rapidity. The mock funeral takes place in the Champ des Navets (turnip field), which is situated in a corner of the Cemptery of Issy. The executioner receives a salary of about 3,000 francs per annum, plus a fee for each execution. He attends to all executions throughout France.