The Guillotine

The guillotine was used as a form of capital punishment in France from 1792 to 1977. The device is named for Dr. Joseph Ignace Guillotin, although it was not actually invented by him. Dr. Guillotin was a Frenchman who was outraged that criminals who were put to death had to suffer so much before dying, and he called for a more humane form of punishment. He figured out that a beheading delivered the least amount of torture. Dr. Guillotin delivered his idea in the form of six articles to the French government. After a lengthy debate, they accepted his proposal and the use of the guillotine b…