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April 25, 2014
"A level playing field."
When the guillotine was instated, it was seen as an egalitarian way to dispatch justice in capital cases, unlike the old system that was unapologetically biased towards the upper class. Before the guillotine, aristocrats underwent relatively painless executions by being beheaded, either by axe or by sword. Commoners, on the other hand, could be hanged, burned at the stake, broken on the wheel, or made to suffer many other sorts of horrible, lingering deaths. The guillotine, to the revolutionary mind, provided a level playing field. This Day in History: April 25th
Posted by gerardvanderleun at April 25, 2014 9:00 AM. This is an entry on the sideblog of American Digest: Check it out.
Your Say
Supposedly the quickest, most humane way to execute someone still. Almost instant and allegedly painless, although that's tough to really know. Its just icky looking.
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at April 25, 2014 12:09 PM
I will love to see the day they parade all of the whores and thieves that presently occupy Washington DC under the weight of the blade.
Posted by: Doug at April 25, 2014 12:38 PM
There is nothing wrong with hanging, if properly done.
Posted by: Fat Man at April 25, 2014 5:55 PM
Doug, are you referring to all our political aristocraps who've earned their chops?
Fat Man, why waste rope; simply drop the miscreant on his/her head from atop the Washington Monument and call it their Washington Denouement.
Posted by: Famously Unknown at April 26, 2014 7:47 AM