by Morgan Johnson

Created on: July 19, 2008

The French decapitation machine was intended to be the answer to the ancient question, "How do you kill people with certainty and as little mess as possible?"

The machine known as the "guillotine" was born from a proposal first advanced by Dr. Joseph-Ignace Guillotin 1789. He argued that a device similar to one he had sketched for the occasion would be a more human form of execution. His proposal failed twice.

The person most responsible for the building and establishment of the guillotine was Marquis Lepeletier de Saint-Fargeau in 1791 - largely due to the desire to ensure a proper execution.

People have known since earliest antiquity that there are two certain ways to kill a person: piercing the heart and severing the head. The heart can be a challenge since the ribcage can be difficult to penetrate.

Thus beheadings were the preferred method of execution prisoners and criminals across many diverse cultures from Asia to Europe and the American continents.

European cultures had a love affair with the machine dating back to the siege engines employed by Roman Legions. There is some sketchy evidence of mechanical beheading machines in England around 1230AD and another possibly two centuries earlier.

Executions had been grisly affairs in Europe especially since the Spanish Inquisition. The condemned faced any number of grisly tortures prior to actually being put to death. Burning, evisceration, dragging and near drowning were common forms of "deathertainment."

Being drawn and quartered called for strong horses to be tied to each limb then spurred to a gallop. The victim was ripped apart into bloody chunks.

Sometimes the horses were lead out to the end of their lines to put a slow strain on the victim. A swift stroke of the sword and the prisoner would fly apart.

The beginning of the French Revolution prompted lengthy discussions on the best was to put a number of convicts to death efficiently and humanely. The population wanted to rid society of every remnant of the monarchy. That meant a very large portion of the population had to be put to death.

The best executioners were hard pressed to keep up with the massive number of beheadings demanded by the courts. Even the bloodthirsty revolutionary crowds could be turned off by a sloppy beheading.

The guillotine was clearly the answer to their needs. It was quick, accurate and never tired. Hundreds of prisoners could be put to death in a week with gravity doing most of the work.

The first guillotine was built after consulting

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