AHC: Guillotine retained as a form of execution

Kapitan-Heneral

The challenge is to create any possible PODs that would have guillotine retained as a form of execution up to the present day by a majority of nations enforcing death penalty.
 
While France had the civilian death penalty, the guilloutine was the method of choice. The same was true for other European countries (the Federal Republic of Germany still retains ownership of one that was acquired to carry out envisioned death sentences after the end of direct occupation government, but never used because the death penalty was abolished in 1949). It's not that far-fetched to imagine it being more popular. Say the Soviet Union adopts it for symbolic reasons (scientific, clean, revolutionary, egalitarian) and it spreads into the traditions of Warsaw Pact and third world countries from there. With the abolition movement in much of the Western world, that could already constitute the majority of countries today (China alone would account for the majority of instances).
 
British speaking countries have a too ingranined love for ropes and then, come on, would you adopt the method the "frogs" use?
 
It's possible to imagine that a less turbulent/tumultuous French Revolution without the Reign of Terror/etc. would see the United States adopt the guillotine as a form of Republican execution.

Hard to say from there on. I'm seriously loath to make broad-scale judgments about 'oh, have the USSR adopt the guillotine!' when butterflies are a huge issue.
 

Tyr Anazasi

Banned
While France had the civilian death penalty, the guilloutine was the method of choice. The same was true for other European countries (the Federal Republic of Germany still retains ownership of one that was acquired to carry out envisioned death sentences after the end of direct occupation government, but never used because the death penalty was abolished in 1949). It's not that far-fetched to imagine it being more popular. Say the Soviet Union adopts it for symbolic reasons (scientific, clean, revolutionary, egalitarian) and it spreads into the traditions of Warsaw Pact and third world countries from there. With the abolition movement in much of the Western world, that could already constitute the majority of countries today (China alone would account for the majority of instances).

On February 18th 1949 the Guillotine was used in Tübingen prison, Württemberg-Hohenzollern, to execute Richard Schuh, convicted of rubbery and murder. It was the last death penalty executed in West Germany as the Grundgesetz was not in force yet. In West Berlin Berthold Wehmeyer was executed the same way on May 11th. Death Penalty in West Berlin was not abolished before 1951. In the GDR the Guillotine was used up until 1968. After that the delinquents were shot, the last 1981.
 
Have public death penalty still in fads until 20th century, have the public still consider public humiliation as integral process in death penalties, and flashy, rolling heads should be seen as better than relatively peaceful death by lethal injections.

I can totally see that the criminal's head being hoisted on top of a pike for public announcements as well, just like what happened in ancient era
 
British speaking countries have a too ingranined love for ropes and then, come on, would you adopt the method the "frogs" use?
Scotland used it even before the French did. Split the UK at an earlier date and maybe they revert to it from hanging as a matter of Nationalist pride?
 

Cook

Banned
British speaking countries have a too ingranined love for ropes and then, come on, would you adopt the method the "frogs" use?

The Guillotine was actually invented in the British Isles, and far earlier than citizen Guillotin (sic) proposed his reforms in 1789. The Halifax Gibbet was in use from 1286 until Oliver Cromwell outlawed it in 1650, while north of the border there was the Scot's Maiden, used from 1564 through until 1708.
 
British speaking countries have a too ingranined love for ropes and then, come on, would you adopt the method the "frogs" use?

Minor historical factoids for your consideration: British military courts in Germany actually executed 87 German nationals by guillotine between 1945-1949. These were defendants who had had been convicted of committing various offenses during the Allied occupation of Germany (murder, possession of firearms, armed robbery and so forth). The Allied Control Council also sanctioned the guillotine as an approved method of execution for defendants sentenced to death by the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg (the other approved method of execution, hanging was used instead). Also, the Allied occupation regime in West Berlin sanctioned at least nine executions by guillotine between 1945-1949, AND kept beheading as the authorized method of execution for security offenses until 1989. Even more amusingly, Eisenhower's headquarters authorized the use of the guillotine by US forces in occupied German territory, although it's uncertain if the Army ever used it. Several war crimes defendants were sentenced to death by this method (changed to hanging), and a sixteen year old boy, Karl Punzler, was condemned to be beheaded for spying in 1945 (his sentence was commuted). Make of that what you will.
 
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It's possible to imagine that a less turbulent/tumultuous French Revolution without the Reign of Terror/etc. would see the United States adopt the guillotine as a form of Republican execution.

That's a tough one. People like Jefferson might support it as you described but others would resist in favor of English traditions. It might end up on a State-by-State basis with New England keeping hanging and others adopting decapitation. That all gets thrown out come the Old West; nooses are much more convienent for transporting.
 
That all gets thrown out come the Old West; nooses are much more convienent for transporting.

That might actually be a point in favour: The guilloutine is a complex and heavy piece of machinery. I cannot be improvised on the spot or quickly assembled the way a noose or a firing squad can. That would make it symbolise the vested authority of legitimate government, due process, and proper concern for the law: Everything a lynch mob is not.
 

cpip

Gone Fishin'
That might actually be a point in favour: The guilloutine is a complex and heavy piece of machinery. I cannot be improvised on the spot or quickly assembled the way a noose or a firing squad can. That would make it symbolise the vested authority of legitimate government, due process, and proper concern for the law: Everything a lynch mob is not.

That's actually a really awesome metaphor, and one I'd never considered.
 
With some of the recent concerns about lethal injection, some people have half-seriously suggested bringing it back, on the grounds that it is both more reliable and less clinical (in the sense that decapitation is 'more real' than just falling asleep).
 
He was making a point about British countries not wanting to adopt something simply because it was seen as French, not actually insulting the French.

Thank you for the uncommon show of common sense.

Going back to the original theme...

France has both hanging and decapitation (plus some less used merry methods like breaking on the wheel, don't you love human inventivness?) on the books.

The middle class wanted to be omologated to the nobles so pressed for the extension of decapitation to everybody. The lower classes instead enjoyed hangings (the first guillotining left the watchers highly unimpressed because it had been too fast).

Imagine that for some reason (e.g. earlier big influence of lower classes in revolution handling) the standardized execution method selected is hanging.

There is a logistic issue: there is no problem, when you use guillotine, to pack a few carts sardine-full of people, bring the lot to Place de la Concorde and in a reasonable amout of time (~1 hour?) do the cutting. Now try to hang the same amount of people in the same time. Unless to fill the square with gallowes (or use permanent/semi-perment structures a-la Montfacon) you have too many "customers" to process.

I therefore imagine pressure on revolutionary tribunals to limit the execution numbers, reserving the show to more important people. Lesser enemies, like e.g. Lavoisier, would either be spared or deported oversea. Lots and lots of PODs here.
 
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