The Heads that fell in Paris

In 1810 the French bade good-bye to torture, including whipping and the rack. Beginning in 1832 those convicted of parricide no longer needed suffer the amputation of their right hand before being put to death. Death by guillotine, however, endured until 1977, despite the opposition of Victor Hugo, his son Charles, and many others to follow. The Heads that Fell in Paris by Georges Grison, a crime reporter for Le Figaro (France's longest running newspaper), provides an insider's view of the ...