DOUBLE EXECUTION IN PARIS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1427, 8 December 1886, Page 2

DOUBLE EXECUTION IN PARIS

[From our Paris Correspondent.]

The murderers of the widow rn the 21st March, in the Rue de C»mbrotme, were guillotined on the morning o ! the 4th October at six o’clock. Their v ; ct'in was a hote'keepor. The murderers, Frey and Hiviere, engaged rooms in her house for the night, and while their name" were being inscribed in the policeregister, fell on the landlady and strangled her.

They then commenced rifling vho house, but the murder was almost immediately discovered by some Italian musicians lodging in the hotel, and they were captured red-handed. The jury who tried them did not find this time “ extenuating circumstances and the President of the Republic signed the decree for their execution. The condemnation was pronounced on the 6th July, but the execution was delayed in the hope of obtaining from them oonfes sion of other crimes.

When It was found that they were trifling with the authorities to delay their punishment, the day was fixed fur its inflotiou. At two o’clock in the morning there was a considerable crowd in the Place de la Roquette. Ah the cafes were open, and doing extern ive business. At three o’clock the guil oilne arrived, and by five o’clock it. was fixed In place. The knife was repea<edly tried in the groove, and f und to work well. In front of the guillotine a platoon of gendarmes on horseback guarded the Instrument against any surprise, although the precaution wss unnecessary, for perfect order prevailed.

At twenty minutes to six o’clock M. Beauguene, governor of the pris n, entered the cell occupied by Riviere, accompanied by the police commLsarv of the quarte 1 -, M. Taylor, ohl-f of the detective service, two minor officials, Abbe C'lomb, vicar of St Solpice, and M. Vendling. the magistrate who bad the c-.sain charge. The latter was armed wbh new powers, namely: to postpone the execution in (he event of the prisoners making a full confession of (heir other crimes. The power was not, however, exeroia.d. Riviere, whtn informed that his last hour was come, turned pale and said he bad suspected it for some tim . He admitted that he was guilt>, but said

“the other one" was more culpable than he was. and asked wh>t was going to be done with him? When he was taken into the dreeing room he was informed that his companion in crime was to share Ms fate. He replied that “ Pere Grevy ” was not merciful, but that it comforted him to know that “ the other" was going to suffer as well as he When the alter r dants went to pinion him he jumped up, and shaking bis fis*, cried : “ That scoundrel, Frey. If I could only get at him.” Suddenly cooling down he added, “ I expected this, but ninety days’ waiting; It Is too long a time.” When the Abbe Colomb presente him the crucifix and exhorted him to repent, ho replied : “There is no longer any God. Leave me alone." When conducted to the scaffold, he walked with a firm step but without looking at the dread instrument which was so soon to cut the thread of his life. Arrived at the scaffold, the Abbe Colomb embraced him- He returned the embrace with energy and kissed the crucifix held out to him. Then he suddenly turned round, and, with a hoarse voice, cried :■ “ You may tell Pere - Grevy that he U a murderer ” These words exa'p -rated the reigning “ Monsieur de Paris.” who seized on the c indemned and threw him with violence on the platform. Ms head was promptly fixed in place, and in two seconds more the dull thud of the knife announced that justice had been executed. At a quarter to six a similar scene was enacted in regard to Frey. In reply to the exhortations of Ahbe Fauae, he said, “ M. Almoner, just leave me alone. Don't talk to me about your Bon Dieu ; I don’t want him.” Throughout the ceremony of pinioning, he displayed the utmost coolness and bravado. He arrived at the scaffold at the moment Riviere’s head fell. The kind Abbe stepped before him to hide the ghastly spectacle from him, but ho would have none of it. “ Stand aside, Abbe!” cried he, “I don’t want you.” The Abba vainly tried to induce him to repent, but his only answer was, “Be off!” and the priest could only return into the prison When his head was placed in the groove he cried aloud, “ Good-bye all men !” and as the collar was fixed ho was heard to

murmur, “ Hero we are, both of as ;’’ tho last words he uttered on earth. The knife fell, and the bodies of two companions in crime lay in the same basket. The double execution only lasted fire minutes

Frey was born in 1859, and Riviere in 1856. Frey had on his forehead tatooed the three words which formed his nickname, “ Pas de chance," (no luck at all ) A ghostly pantomime, recalling to mind Poe’s narrative of the galvanising of a mummy, was enacted in the afternoon of the execution day at the Practical School of Surgery, where the bodies of Frey and Riviere were placed at the disposal of the aurgeona to experiment on, A number of experiments were made, among them the following;—To ra-establish the circulation la the sever’d heads, the veins were injected with blood taken from a living animal. The skin of the face, previously livi t, btcam» charged with cl r, the lips recovered their natural color, the cheeks filled out, Irregular movements agitated the skin, and the faces resumed the appearance of life Electric currents'were passed throug the facial nerves, and the contractions of the face were noted. There were, however, no results in the slightest degree indicative of any restoration to life or consciousness. The nerves shortly ceased to betray any sensibility, and it was evident that all perception and sensation was at an end.