WHAT IS A GUILLOTINE?
Incredibly, this execution device was designed by someone who was against the death penalty
WORDS AILSA HARVEY
DID YOU KNOW?
The first life claimed by the guillotine was in 1792
For almost two centuries, the guillotine was used as an execution device in capital crimes – crimes that required punishment with the most severe of sentences. It was first used in the 1700s, during a time where executions were commonly held as public events. As an alternative to the brutal killing methods of the time – which included the guilty party being attached to animals and pulled apart – the guillotine was invented by a French surgeon and physiologist, Antoine Louis, with the aim of executing the sentence quickly with as little pain and suffering as possible.