THE GUILLOTINE IN PARIS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLIII, Issue XLIII, 24 September 1909, Page 4

THE GUILLOTINE IN PARIS

MATRICIDE EXECUTED. I'or the first time ii ten years a criminal was beheaded in Paris, on August Sth. The execution., was public, as required by a law not yet repealed, (but happily the police, by skilful measures, succeeded in preventing any such atrocious scenes of horrible revelry as were formerly witnessed round the guillotine. The place where the guillotine was put up was a deserted street corner near the Sante Prison, and only a few hooligans heard of the coming execution in time to gather in sinister glee on the spot. The criminal beheaded was a young man named Duchremin, guilty of the foulest murder. A year ago, having been refused a sum of £2 his mother, he strangled her, and. as she was not yet dead he finished her off -with a knife. He afterwards confessed the frightful crime with no show of remorse, and during and after big' crime remained j utterly callous. | The murderer of his own mother was guillotined on August stjj, and the mediaeval, and sqnAewhat melodramatic, prqyi.si<»ns still existant in the JTa-poleonic code for the p'uhish- ! ment of .parricide, were duly - observed. The laiw ordains that such criminals "shall be led. to the' place of execution " barefoot, clad iii s white shirt, and with a black veil over his head. They shall be exposed on the sc&ffpjd while the sentence passed shall b,e read to the assembled people." ~ The doomed man expected his fate, and was already awake when the door of his cell was opened. He still showed no remorse, and seemed half-stupefied. Judges, prison officials, warders, and ' the chaplain, while the latter said Mass, seemed more moved. than the criminal. The priest had never offiQia.ted on such an occasion before, and his agitation and his trembling jvoiee were painful to behold and hear for those present. At last the director of the prison could bear it no; longer, and asked the chaplain's assistant to curtail his respqns.es. All the while the criminal sat chewing, rather than smoking, cigarette after cigarette, which ho threw away one after the other. After his hair had been cut, and a long white gown had been wrapped Tound him, a cousin of his, who had some time ago got into the prison, ran up to kiss him. The condemned man begged pardon fori his crime, and added a wish that his I remains should ibe buried, and not| handed over the Faculty of Medicine for experiments. He said nothing more. Tho Mack veil was placed over his head, and he was taken out

Ito execution. -The reading of the I sentence -wis got through as -quickly. [as -possible. P The veil and the- white gown were removed, and the man, then- clad 'only in a pair of trousers. , pushed tinder -the guillotine.. He had time to give only one horrible look np at the knife 'before it fell. From the moment ho had been brought to the guillotine until .justice was done) but a few seconds elapsed, and Deib- •". ler Fils'says, in spite of the legal formality in the case of parricide, the execution was one of the speediest on record. ;.;■ . :s _i ■_t.it' ■-■-•< '•■"' "*' ■