Quote Originally Posted by Jon View Post
I should note that "botched execution" is a popular trope, both historically and today, so maybe it went perfectly.
Intrigued by your remark, I spent some time searching the internet on the subject's of Louis' execution and botched executions in general but could find no reference to things gone awry even from the accounts written by eyewitnesses. It may be that the execution of a European monarch was such an epic event in those times that the details of the task were lost in the larger picture.

The botched executions sites confirm the fact that hanging, firing squads and electrocution can go wrong in an astounding number of ways. This bolsters my conviction that a properly designed, well-maintained guillotine has far fewer things to go wrong and remains the best way to get the job done quickly and reliably. Not to mention that, if the threat of capital punishment is meant to deter criminals, the gut-wrenching fear created by the machine can only enhance the threat.

Perhaps a morbid forum topic but remember...the guillotines of the Revolution were French homemade tools.