Capital punishment in France


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Capital punishment in France existed officially from the Middle Ages until it was abolished in 1981. The last executions took place in 1977, by guillotine, which had been the only legal execution method since the French Revolution. This was the last execution in the then European Community. The last person to be executed was Hamida Djandoubi, on 10 September 1977, and France's last executioner was Marcel Chevalier.

Contents

History

The death penalty under the Ancien Régime

Prior to 1791, there existed a variety of means of capital punishment in France, depending on the crime and the status of the condemned person, including decapitation by sword (reserved for nobles), hanging for thieves, burning for heretics etc.

Adoption of the guillotine

Public execution by guillotine in Lons-le-Saunier, 1897

The first campaign towards the abolition of the death penalty began on 30 May 1791. On 6 October of that year the National Assembly passed a law refusing to abolish the death penalty; however they did abolish torture. With this law, they also declared that there would now be only one method of execution: 'Tous condamnés à mort auront leur tête tranchée' (Anyone condemned to death will have their head cut off).

The guillotine had been proposed as a means of execution in 1789 by Joseph-Ignace Guillotin. 1792 and the French Revolution marked the end of hanging by requiring all executions to be accomplished by means of the blade, rather than reserving it only for nobles. However, as beheading by a hand-held axe or blade is a comparatively inefficient method of execution compared to hanging, the suggestion of the mechanical guillotine was adopted. The idea behind the guillotine was a more humane way to take the life of the condemned, rather than the messy earlier ways of execution. The device was first used on Nicolas Jacques Pelletier on 25 April 1792. Guillotine usage then spread to other countries, namely the French colonies in Africa and French Indochina.

1939 onwards

Public executions were the norm and continued until 1939. From the mid 19th century, the usual time of day for executions changed from around 3 pm to morning and then to dawn. Executions had been carried out in large central public spaces such as market squares but gradually moved towards the local prison. In the early 20th century, the guillotine was set up just outside the prison gates. The last person to be publicly guillotined was Eugen Weidmann, who had murdered six times, on 17 June 1939 outside the St-Pierre prison (now part of the Palais de Justice) at Versailles. Photographs of the execution appeared in the press, and apparently this spectacle led the government to put a stop to public executions and to hold them instead in prison courtyards, such as La Santé Prison in Paris. Following the law, the first to be guillotined inside a prison was Jean Dehaene, who had murdered his estranged wife and father-in-law, executed on 19 July 1939 at St-Brieuc.

The 1940s and the wartime period saw an increase in the number of executions, including the first executions of women since the 19th century.

In the 1950s to the 1970s, the number of executions steadily decreased, with for example President Georges Pompidou between 1969 to 1974, giving clemency to all but three people out of the fifteen sentenced to death. President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing oversaw the last executions.

Clemency

Exclusive right to commute the death sentence belonged to the President of Republic, as in earlier ages to the Monarch.

President Charles de Gaulle, who supported the death penalty, commuted 19 death sentences and during his term 13 people were guillotined, and few others executed by firing squad for crimes against security of state (the last of them was OAS member, Lt. Colonel Jean-Marie Bastien-Thiry, who was an organizer of famous assassination attempt on de Gaulle in 1962).

George Rapin, guillotined in 1960, had originally his sentence commuted by de Gaulle. Olivier however refused a pardon and was executed.

There were no executions during two terms of Interim President Alain Poher in 1969 and 1974.

President Georges Pompidou, who personally was a death penalty opponent, commuted all but three death sentences imposed during his term.

President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, who, according to his own words, "felt a deep aversion to the death penalty", also commuted all but three death sentences. He was President at the time of the last execution in France.

Amnesties

One of the examples of general amnesty for all people sentenced to death and awaiting execution took place in 1959 when, after de Gaulle's inauguration, all sentences were commuted[1] (amnesty in not an executive clemency but act of parliament).

Abolition

The first official debate on the death penalty in France took place on 30 May 1791, with the presentation of a bill aimed at abolishing it. The advocate was Louis-Michel Lepeletier of Saint-Fargeau and the bill was supported by Maximilien de Robespierre. However, the National Constituent Assembly, on 6 October 1791, refused to abolish the death penalty.

On 26 October 1795, the National Convention abolished capital punishment, but only to signify the day of general peace. With the arrival of Napoleon Bonaparte, the death penalty, which in fact hadn't yet been abolished, was reinstated on 12 February 1810, in the French Imperial Penal Code.

The President of the Republic Armand Fallières, a supporter of abolition, continued to systematically pardon every convict condemned to death over his first three year of his seven-year office.

In 1906 the Commission of the budget of the Chamber of Députés voted for the suppression of funding for the guillotine. This vote aimed at stopping the execution procedure. On 3 July 1908, the Garde des Sceaux, Aristide Briand, submitted a plan of law to the députés, dated November 1906, on the abolition of the death penalty. Despite the support of Jean Jaurès, the plan was rejected on 8 December by 330 votes against 201.

Under the Vichy Regime, Marshal Pétain refused to pardon five women who would be guillotined (something which had not occurred for more than 50 years). Pétain himself would be sentenced to death following the overthrow of the Vichy Regime and subsequent trails of Vichy officials. Under Vincent Auriol's presidency, three more women were beheaded, one in Algeria, two in France, the last one in Angers, 1949. General Charles de Gaulle needed to grant final approval on Pétain's execution; he ultimately disapproved the death sentence and commuted Pétain's sentence to life imprisonment on the grounds of poor health.

With an indictment from Robert Badinter, Patrick Henry escaped being condemned to death on 21 January 1977 for the murder of a child. Numerous newspapers predict the end of the death penalty. On 10 September 1977, Hamida Djandoubi was guillotined, the last person executed in France.

Robert Badinter, a long time opponent of capital punishment and the defending lawyer of some of the last men executed, became minister of justice and proposed the final abolition of the death penalty in 1981, which was pushed through the National Assembly with the backing of newly elected president François Mitterrand. The book Le Pull-over rouge and consequent film, documenting the possibly unsound conviction and execution of one of these, Christian Ranucci, is credited with helping to bring about this abolition.

The abolition process in 1981

  • 25 May: François Mitterrand pardoned Philippe Maurice, the last person condemned to death to be pardoned.
  • 26 August: The Council of Ministers approved the plan of law, abolishing the death penalty.
  • 30 September: Several amendments of the Sénat were rejected. The law was officially voted on by the two chambers.
  • 9 October: The law was promulgated. The last western European country to practice the death penalty abolished it.

Feasibility of re-establishment

Today, although a few French politicians (mainly far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen) declare themselves to be in favour of the death penalty, its re-establishment would not be possible without the unilateral French rejection of several international treaties.

On 20 December 1985, France ratified "additional protocol number 6" at the European Convention to safeguard human rights and fundamental liberties. This meant that France can no longer re-establish the death penalty, except in times of war or by denouncing the Convention.

On 21 June 2001, Jacques Chirac sent a letter to the association "Ensemble" saying he was against the death penalty: "It's a fight which we have to lead with determination and conviction. Because no justice is infallible and each execution can kill an innocent. Because nothing can legitimize the execution of minors or of people suffering from mental deficiencies. Because death can never constitute an act of justice".

On 3 May 2002, France and 30 other countries signed Protocol number 13 to the European Convention on human rights. This forbids the death penalty in all circumstances, even in times of war. It went into effect on 1 July 2003, after having been ratified by 10 states.

Despite the above, in 2004, a law proposition (number 1521) was placed before the French National Assembly, suggesting re-establishment of the death penalty for terrorist acts. The proposition was not adopted. On 3 January 2006, Jacques Chirac announced a revision of the Constitution aimed at writing off the death penalty. (On the previous 13 October, the Constitutional Council had deemed the ratification of the second optional protocol of the international pact necessitated such a revision of the Constitution. The protocol concerned civil and political rights aimed at abolishing the death penalty.)

On 19 February 2007, the Congress of France (the National Assembly and the Senate of France, reunited for the day) voted overwhelmingly a modification of the Constitution that states that "no one can be sentenced to the death penalty". There 828 votes for the modification, and 26 against.

Variations in French opinion

During the 20th century, French opinion on the death penalty has greatly changed as many polls have showed large differences from one time to another.

  • In 1908, Le Petit Parisien published a poll in which 77% of people asked were in favour of the death penalty.
  • In 1960, a survey from the IFOP showed that 50% of the French were against, while 39% were for.
  • In 1972, in a survey from the same institute, 27% of those surveyed were for abolition while 63% were for capital punishment.
  • In 1981, Le Figaro carried out a survey the day after the vote for abolition. It indicated that 62% of the French were for maintaining the death penalty.
  • In 1998, IFOP's and France Soir's survey showed that opinions were split in half, with 54% against the death penalty and 44% for it.[2]
  • In 2006, TNS Sofres survey show opposition of the French people to death penalty generally: 52% are now against death penalty and 41% are pro-death penalty.
  • In 2007, according to Argus Reid Global Monitor, 52% of French are anti-death penalty and 45% are pro-death penalty. [1]
  • In 2007, according to Novatris/Harris, 58% of French favor to the execution of Saddam Hussein. [3] [4]

As with all surveys on a subject this sensitive, public opinion is quite changeable, depending on current affairs. The different surveys taken have shown that, at the time of appalling crimes (particularly those which affect children), public opinion can quickly return to a majority in favour of re-establishing capital punishment.

Executions since 1959[5]

Executed person Date of execution Place of execution Crime Method Under President
Jean Dupont 14 April 1959 Paris Child murder with premeditation Guillotine Charles de Gaulle
Abcha Ahmed 30 July 1959 Metz Murder with premeditation Guillotine Charles de Gaulle
René Pons 21 June 1960 Bordeaux Matricide Guillotine Charles de Gaulle
Georges Rapin 27 July 1960 Paris Murder with premeditation Guillotine Charles de Gaulle
Dehil Salah 1 October 1961 Paris Murder with premeditation Guillotine Charles de Gaulle
Louis Jalbaud 7 December 1961 Marseille Multiple murders before robbery Guillotine Charles de Gaulle
Lt. Roger Degueldre 6 July 1962 Ivry-sur-Seine Treason/Multiple Murders Firing Squad Charles de Gaulle
Lt. Col. Jean Bastien-Thiry 11 March 1963 Ivry-sur-Seine Treason/Assassination attempt against the President Firing Squad Charles de Gaulle
Stanislas Juhant 17 March 1964 Paris Murder after robbery Guillotine Charles de Gaulle
Raymond Anama 17 June 1964 Fort-de-France Murder with premeditation Guillotine Charles de Gaulle
Robert Actis 27 June 1964 Lyon Murder before robbery Guillotine Charles de Gaulle
Mazouz Ghaouti 27 June 1964 Lyon Murder with premeditation Guillotine Charles de Gaulle
Lambert Gau 22 June 1965 Fort-de-France Murder with premeditation Guillotine Charles de Gaulle
Saïd Hachani 11 October 1966 Lyon Multiple murders with premeditation Guillotine Charles de Gaulle
Gunther Volz 26 December 1967 Metz Child murder after rape Guillotine Charles de Gaulle
Jean-Laurent Olivier 11 March 1969 Amiens Multiple child murders after rape Guillotine Charles de Gaulle
Roger Bontems 28 November 1972 Paris Felony murder, Buffet's accomplice Guillotine Georges Pompidou
Claude Buffet 28 November 1972 Paris Warden murder while already serving a life sentence Guillotine Georges Pompidou
Ali Benyanes 12 May 1973 Marseille Child murder after attempted murder Guillotine Georges Pompidou
Christian Ranucci 28 July 1976 Marseille Child murder after kidnapping Guillotine Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Jérôme Carrein 23 June 1977 Douai Child murder after attempted rape Guillotine Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Hamida Djandoubi 10 September 1977 Marseille Torture murder Guillotine Valéry Giscard d'Estaing

Notable death penalty opponents

Notable death penalty supporters

References

  1. ^ Aleksander Hall, Charles de Gaulle, p. 291, Iskry, Warsaw, 2002
  2. ^ IFOP (1998). "Le rétablissement de la peine de mort - Sondage IFOP - France Soir". IFOP - France Soir. http://www.ifop.com/europe/sondages/opinionf/peinemor.asp. Retrieved on 2006-06-17. 
  3. ^ When asked whether they favored the death penalty for Saddam Hussein, a majority of respondents in Germany, France and Spain responded in the affirmative.
  4. ^ More than half in France (58%) Germany (53%) and Spain (51%) support the enforcement of Saddam Hussein’s death sentence.
  5. ^ Executions 1879- 1977
  6. ^ C'était De Gaulle by Alain Peyrefitte ISBN 978-2-07-076506-5






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