3/29/2017 The Guillotine's Namesake Was Against Capital Punishment | Smart News | Smithsonian

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TheGuillotinesNamesakeWasAgainstCapitalPunishment
Andcontrarytopopularmyth,hediedofnaturalcauses,notbybeheading

IntheeyesofJosephGuillotin,theguillotinewasaninventioninthebestidealsoftheRevolution:humane,
equalizingandscientific.(WikimediaCommons)

ByKatEschner
smithsonian.com
March28,20179:20AM

BythetimeJosephGuillotindied,aged75,theinventionwhichnowbearshislastnamehadbecomesynonymouswiththeterror
andmassexecutionsoftheFrenchRevolution.

Hisfuneraloccurredonthisdayin1814.Atthesametime,writesRichardCavendishforHistoryToday,hisfamilywaslobbying
theFrenchgovernmenttochangetheguillotinesnamesothattheirfamilynamewouldnolongerbesynonymouswithaperiod
knownastheTerror.Thegovernmentrefused,sotheychangedtheirfamilynameinstead,hewrites.

Ironically,Guillotinsmotivesweregood:hewantedtomakeexecutiongruesomeevennow,butparticularlybrutalinpre
revolutionaryFrancemorehumane.Realizingthathewasunlikelytostopexecutionsentirely,hisintentionwastomakecapital

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3/29/2017 The Guillotine's Namesake Was Against Capital Punishment | Smart News | Smithsonian
punishmentmorehumaneandmoreequalacrosssocialclasses,writesNaomiRussoforTheAtlantic.Andasadoctorand
politician,hehadthesocialstandingtomakehisvoiceheard,shesays.

Executionwasaregularpunishmentforthingslikekillinganotherpersonbutalsothingsliketheftandassault.Dependingon
rank,peoplewerekilledinincreasinglygruesomeways,writeshistorianPieterSpierenburg.Aristocratsautomaticallygotthe
relativelyhumanebeheading,whilepunishmentsforpeopleoflessersocialstandingcouldbesubjecttopunishmentsas
horrifyingasthewheel(althoughsomewerebeheaded,asjudgessawthisasalighterpunishment.)

Itwasinthisclimate,writesRusso,thatGuillotinadvocatedforthemachinethatwouldmakehisnameinfamous.Withthe
decapitatingmachinehepopularized,everyonewouldbeexecutedinthesameway,byasharpbladethathadnochanceof
missing.

GuillotindidnotinfactinventthemachinehisnameisassociatedwiththatwasDr.AntoineLouis,writesHistory.com.Infact,
themachinewasfirstnicknamedtheLouisonorLouisette.ButGuillotindidpopularizeit,usingtheargumentsabout
equalityandhumanitythatalsoshapedtheidealsoftheRevolution.

HisfirstbigopportunitytotalkabouttheguillotinecamewhenheappearedbeforetheNationalAssemblyinDecember1789,in
thefirstyearoftheRevolution,arguingfortheguillotinetobecomethestandardmannerofcarryingoutthedeathpenalty,
Russowrites.

Inamomentofenthusiasm,hetoldhisaudience,NowwithmymachineItakeoffyourheadinthetwinklingofaneye,and
youneverfeelit.

Thisidealofexecutionaccomplishedwithapurposebuilt,swiftmachinewasafarcryfromsomethingasbrutalashangingor
theotherregularlypracticedpunishments.Infact,whenGuillotinsmotherwatchedamanexecutedonthewheeltiedina
starfishtoalargewoodenwheelandthenbeatentodeath,bonesbreakingintheprocessthesightsupposedlycausedhertogo
intoprematurelabor.

AdayafterGuillotinsAssemblyappearance,writesRusso,hisnamewasforeverlinkedinthepopularimaginationwithhis
"machine."ThenonJune3,1791,shewrites,theAssemblydecreedthatthedecapitatingmachinewastobethesolemeansof
legalcriminalexecution.

Intheyearsthatfollowed,morethantenthousandpeoplediedbybeheadingwiththeguillotine.Executionsdonethiswaymay
havebeenlesstorturous,writesCavendish,buttheycouldnowbecarriedoutwiththeefficiencyofaslaughterhouseassembly
line.Itlookedscientific,butitwasbrutal.

ApersistentmythaboutGuillotinisthathewaskilledbyhisowninvention.Thisisnottrue:helivedtoseeitsunintended
consequences.

AboutKatEschner

KatEschnerisafreelancejournalistbasedinTorontowhofocusesontechnology,cultureandethics.Sherecentlygraduated
fromthemastersprograminjournalismatRyersonUniversity,wheresheservedaseditorinchiefoftheSpring2016issueof
theRyersonReviewofJournalism.

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