Marcel Chevalier
Encyclopedia
Marcel Chevalier worked as the last chief executioner
(Monsieur de Paris) in France. He succeeded André Obrecht
in 1976 and held his position until 1981, when capital punishment
was abolished under president François Mitterrand
and justice minister Robert Badinter
. The method of application of the death penalty for civil capital offences in France 1791-1981 was beheading with the guillotine
. Military executions were by firing squad.
Chevalier, who started his executioner's career in 1958, performed about 40 executions. After his appointment as chief executioner, on October 1, 1976, he only executed two people. They were the last two executions in France:
Chevalier worked as a printer subsequent to his retirement. He was married to Marcelle Obrecht, the niece of penultimate chief executioner of France, André Obrecht. They had two children, one of whom, Eric, was present at Carrein's and Djandoubi's executions in order to prepare him for succession to chief executioner upon his father's eventual retirement.
Marcel Chevalier was interviewed by the press on a number of occasions, but later, disillusioned by the sensationalist nature of press coverage, chose to say nothing of his experiences with the guillotine.
Executioner
A judicial executioner is a person who carries out a death sentence ordered by the state or other legal authority, which was known in feudal terminology as high justice.-Scope and job:...
(Monsieur de Paris) in France. He succeeded André Obrecht
André Obrecht
André Obrecht was the official executioner of France from 1951 until 1976.Born in Paris on August 9, 1899, Obrecht was the nephew of the chief executioner Anatole Deibler. He learned of his uncle's job at ten, when a series of postcards depicting an execution were published in September 1909...
in 1976 and held his position until 1981, when capital punishment
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
was abolished under president François Mitterrand
François Mitterrand
François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...
and justice minister Robert Badinter
Robert Badinter
Robert Badinter is a high-profile French criminal lawyer, university professor and politician mainly known for his struggle against the death penalty, the abolition of which he successfully sponsored in Parliament in 1981...
. The method of application of the death penalty for civil capital offences in France 1791-1981 was beheading with the guillotine
Guillotine
The guillotine is a device used for carrying out :executions by decapitation. It consists of a tall upright frame from which an angled blade is suspended. This blade is raised with a rope and then allowed to drop, severing the head from the body...
. Military executions were by firing squad.
Chevalier, who started his executioner's career in 1958, performed about 40 executions. After his appointment as chief executioner, on October 1, 1976, he only executed two people. They were the last two executions in France:
- Jérôme CarreinJérôme CarreinJérôme Carrein, , was the second-to-last convicted criminal to be executed by guillotine in France.On 27 October 1975 in Arleux, Northern France, Jérôme Carrein, father of five children, often of no fixed abode, alcoholic and a tuberculosis sufferer, met Cathy Petit, an eight-year-old local girl...
, condemned twice for the murder and rape of a 7 year-old girl, was guillotined on June 23, 1977, in DouaiDouai-Main sights:Douai's ornate Gothic style belfry was begun in 1380, on the site of an earlier tower. The 80 m high structure includes an impressive carillon, consisting of 62 bells spanning 5 octaves. The originals, some dating from 1391 were removed in 1917 during World War I by the occupying...
. - Hamida DjandoubiHamida DjandoubiHamida Djandoubi was the last person to be guillotined in France, at Baumettes Prison in Marseille. He was a Tunisian immigrant who had been convicted of the torture and murder of 21-year-old Elisabeth Bousquet, his former girlfriend, in Marseille...
for having tortured and strangled his former girlfriend was guillotined on September 10, 1977 in Marseilles.
Chevalier worked as a printer subsequent to his retirement. He was married to Marcelle Obrecht, the niece of penultimate chief executioner of France, André Obrecht. They had two children, one of whom, Eric, was present at Carrein's and Djandoubi's executions in order to prepare him for succession to chief executioner upon his father's eventual retirement.
Marcel Chevalier was interviewed by the press on a number of occasions, but later, disillusioned by the sensationalist nature of press coverage, chose to say nothing of his experiences with the guillotine.
External link
- Biography (in French)