Benthic2
Guru
I'm not sure that's true, MP:
from Business Insider:
As a politician, Guillotin focused mostly on medical reform. He was also an opponent of the death penalty, and, perhaps recognizing that outright abolition was unlikely, focused his energy on making capital punishment more humane—and more egalitarian. At the time, only the nobility in France had the dubious privilege of beheading by sword; most criminals sentenced to death were hung on the gallows (or, in some gruesome cases, sent to the breaking wheel).
On October 10, 1789, Guillotin submitted a proposal to the French government arguing for a decapitating machine to become the standard manner of carrying out the death penalty. Initially, the proposal gained little traction—but that December, Guillotin delivered a speech to the National Assembly that would ultimately elevate both the man and the idea to international fame.
(source: The ironic story behind the guillotine - Business Insider)
From The History Channel:
It was originally developed as a more humane method of execution.
The origins of the French guillotine date back to late-1789, when Dr. Joseph-Ignace Guillotin proposed that the French government adopt a gentler method of execution. Although he was personally opposed to capital punishment, Guillotin argued that decapitation by a lightning-quick machine would be more humane and egalitarian than sword and axe beheadings, which were often botched.
(source: 8 Things You May Not Know About the Guillotine - History Lists)
from Business Insider:
As a politician, Guillotin focused mostly on medical reform. He was also an opponent of the death penalty, and, perhaps recognizing that outright abolition was unlikely, focused his energy on making capital punishment more humane—and more egalitarian. At the time, only the nobility in France had the dubious privilege of beheading by sword; most criminals sentenced to death were hung on the gallows (or, in some gruesome cases, sent to the breaking wheel).
On October 10, 1789, Guillotin submitted a proposal to the French government arguing for a decapitating machine to become the standard manner of carrying out the death penalty. Initially, the proposal gained little traction—but that December, Guillotin delivered a speech to the National Assembly that would ultimately elevate both the man and the idea to international fame.
(source: The ironic story behind the guillotine - Business Insider)
From The History Channel:
It was originally developed as a more humane method of execution.
The origins of the French guillotine date back to late-1789, when Dr. Joseph-Ignace Guillotin proposed that the French government adopt a gentler method of execution. Although he was personally opposed to capital punishment, Guillotin argued that decapitation by a lightning-quick machine would be more humane and egalitarian than sword and axe beheadings, which were often botched.
(source: 8 Things You May Not Know About the Guillotine - History Lists)
