WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -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.

Detailed explanation-2: -The machine was judged successful because it was considered a humane form of execution in contrast with more cruel methods used in the pre-revolutionary Ancien Régime.

Detailed explanation-3: -Why was the guillotine considered a more humane form of punishment? It’s quick, leaves a clean cut, and it gets the job done.

Detailed explanation-4: -Use of the guillotine continued in France in the 19th and 20th centuries, and the last execution by guillotine occurred in 1977. In September 1981, France outlawed capital punishment altogether, thus abandoning the guillotine forever. There is a museum dedicated to the guillotine in Liden, Sweden.

Detailed explanation-5: -The guillotine was a device consisting of two poles and a blade with which a person was beheaded. Many historians consider this device the first execution method that lessened the victim’s pain and the first step in raising public awareness of the morality of the death penalty.