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Nicolas Jacques PelletierFrench bandit who became the first person to be executed by guillotine
Country:
 France |
Content:
Biography of Nicolas Jacques Pelletier
Nicolas Jacques Pelletier was a French robber who became the first person to be executed by guillotine. He was born in France and lived during the late 18th century. Pelletier was known to be part of a group of notorious robbers.
Crime and Punishment
On the night of October 14, 1791, Pelletier and several of his accomplices attacked a passerby on one of the streets in Paris. They stole his wallet and some valuable documents. During the robbery, Pelletier allegedly killed a man, although this fact is disputed in later literature.
Upon hearing the victim's cries for help, the nearby guard post arrested Pelletier, and he was charged that same night. Jacob Augustin Moreau, a district judge in Sens, was assigned to the case. Despite the defense's repeated calls for a fair trial, Judge Moreau sentenced Pelletier to death, which was scheduled to be carried out on December 31, 1791.
However, due to the persistence of Pelletier's defense attorney, a retrial took place on December 24, which ultimately upheld Judge Moreau's initial verdict. Pelletier's execution was still pending, but during this time, a law passed by the National Assembly of France came into effect, stating that beheading by guillotine would be the only legal method of capital punishment.
Pelletier spent over three months in prison, awaiting his execution. Meanwhile, in Strasbourg, a guillotine was constructed under the guidance of surgeon Antoine Louison, costing 38 pounds.
The Day of Execution
Once the guillotine was ready and delivered to Paris, Charles Henri Sanson, the state executioner, personally tested it on straw dolls, live sheep, and finally on human corpses. Sanson preferred the new invention over the traditional and often torturous method of beheading with a sword. He had to convince the skeptical National Assembly to adopt the guillotine as the sole method of execution.
On January 24, 1792, Pelletier's case underwent a third hearing, which confirmed the previous sentence. However, the execution was once again postponed due to ongoing debates in the assembly regarding the appropriate legal method of capital punishment.
Finally, on March 23, 1792, the National Assembly passed a decree in favor of the guillotine.
The guillotine was placed on a platform in front of the Hôtel de Ville, where municipal authorities were located, on the Place de Grève. The execution was public and overseen by King Louis XV. Pierre Louis Roederer, a magistrate, was concerned about possible disturbances during the execution due to the expected large crowd, as this was the first execution by guillotine. He wrote to Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, and requested the presence of National Guards to ensure smooth proceedings.
Pelletier's execution was scheduled for half past three on April 25. Pelletier, dressed in a red shirt, was led to the platform where the guillotine was set up. A large crowd, as predicted by Roederer, eagerly awaited to witness the new invention in action. The guillotine, painted red, was prepared in advance, and executioner Charles Henri Sanson worked swiftly. In a matter of seconds, Pelletier was correctly positioned on the guillotine, and almost instantly, he was decapitated.
However, the crowd was dissatisfied. Anticipating a longer execution, they protested that the rapid and efficient beheading deprived them of the customary entertainment and pleasure they experienced when witnessing hangings, beheadings with a sword, or wheel executions. The outraged crowd demanded, "Give us back the wooden gallows!"
Despite the public's discontent, the guillotine was officially acknowledged by the National Assembly, and subsequently, all individuals sentenced to capital punishment were executed using this method.
