THE GUILLOTINE

What is the guillotine?

The guillotine is a machine that was used to behead a criminal.

WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE

• It was made out of wood.
• They were 14 feet tall.
• It had an 88.2 pound blade.
• There was also a hole where the head went.
• Also a rope was attached to the blade.

WHO MADE IT

• The machine was made by Dr. Joseph Ignance Guillotin.
• He made it because he wanted a painless death for all executions.
• Before that only normal criminals were given a painless death.
• The poor criminals were given a very painful death.
• The guillotine was a step towards banning the death penalty.

IMPORTANT DATES

• April 25th 1792- First execution, Nicolas Jacques Pelletie was guillotined
• at Place de Grève on the Right Bank.
• September 10th 1977- Last execution, the murderer Hamida Djandoubi
• was guillotined in Marseilles, France.

FACTS ABOUT THE GUILLOTINE

• The e at the end was added by an unknown English poet.
• The actual beheading tok 2/100 of a second.