Capital punishment in Spain
Encyclopedia
Capital punishment in Spain is banned under the Constitution of 1978
, which saw the restoration of democracy, and completely abolished for all offences, including under wartime since October 11, 1995. The last executions were carried out on September 27, 1975 when five members of ETA
and FRAP
were executed by firing squad for murder
following a much-publicized trial in which a number of the convicted (included a pregnant woman) were given clemency by General Francisco Franco
, and the sentences of the remaining five were commuted to death by shooting rather than by the garrotte, which had seen draconian publicity when used for the last time in 1974 (for executing Salvador Puig Antich
in Barcelona
and Heinz Chez in Tarragona
).
Capital punishment was common in the Spanish kingdom, and methods used included decapitation
(especially for nobility). In 1820 Ferdinand VII replaced all other methods with the garrotte, which was used mainly since then, including for the assassin of six-time Prime Minister of Spain
Antonio Cánovas del Castillo
. The penalty was abolished by the Second Spanish Republic
in 1932 but restored two years later in the midst of social and political turmoil for a few major offences, not including murder. It was restored fully on decree of Franco in 1938, who oversaw a rapid number of executions in the early period of Francoist Spain (possibly amounting to hundreds of thousands), most of them extrajudicial. From 1940 to 1975, 165 judicial executions are reported to have been carried out, although especially the numbers following the civil war are very vague.
Use of the penalty became more scarce towards the end of Franco's reign; between 1950 and 1975 some 67 Spaniards (including two women) were executed by garrotte and 16 by firing squad, including a total of nine in the 1960s (less than in neighbouring France, although several of the convictions were considered political), one in 1972, and two in 1974. The latter ones (of Salvador Puig Antich and Heinz Chez) were allegedly held on the same day to deliberately confuse public sentiments and equalize the execution of a political opponent - both were convicted of killing Guardia Civil members - with that of a common murderer. The last five death sentences were executed in 1975, prompting Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme
, amongst other harsh condemnations, to denounce the regime as "devilish murderers" the following day.
Spanish Constitution of 1978
-Structure of the State:The Constitution recognizes the existence of nationalities and regions . Preliminary Title As a result, Spain is now composed entirely of 17 Autonomous Communities and two autonomous cities with varying degrees of autonomy, to the extent that, even though the Constitution...
, which saw the restoration of democracy, and completely abolished for all offences, including under wartime since October 11, 1995. The last executions were carried out on September 27, 1975 when five members of ETA
ETA
ETA , an acronym for Euskadi Ta Askatasuna is an armed Basque nationalist and separatist organization. The group was founded in 1959 and has since evolved from a group promoting traditional Basque culture to a paramilitary group with the goal of gaining independence for the Greater Basque Country...
and FRAP
Frente Revolucionario Antifascista y Patriótico
The Frente Revolucionario Antifascista y Patriótico , sometimes also called Frente Revolucionario Antifascista y Patriota , better known by its acronym FRAP, was a radical Spanish Marxist-Leninist revolutionary organization that operated in the 1970s.-History:FRAP began operating around 1971 in the...
were executed by firing squad for murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
following a much-publicized trial in which a number of the convicted (included a pregnant woman) were given clemency by General Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
, and the sentences of the remaining five were commuted to death by shooting rather than by the garrotte, which had seen draconian publicity when used for the last time in 1974 (for executing Salvador Puig Antich
Salvador Puig Antich
Salvador Puig Antich was a Spanish anarchist, born in Barcelona, and active during the 1960s. A member of the Movimiento Ibérico de Liberación , he was executed by the Francoist regime after being tried by a military tribunal and found guilty of the death of a Guardia Civil policeman...
in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
and Heinz Chez in Tarragona
Tarragona
Tarragona is a city located in the south of Catalonia on the north-east of Spain, by the Mediterranean. It is the capital of the Spanish province of the same name and the capital of the Catalan comarca Tarragonès. In the medieval and modern times it was the capital of the Vegueria of Tarragona...
).
Capital punishment was common in the Spanish kingdom, and methods used included decapitation
Decapitation
Decapitation is the separation of the head from the body. Beheading typically refers to the act of intentional decapitation, e.g., as a means of murder or execution; it may be accomplished, for example, with an axe, sword, knife, wire, or by other more sophisticated means such as a guillotine...
(especially for nobility). In 1820 Ferdinand VII replaced all other methods with the garrotte, which was used mainly since then, including for the assassin of six-time Prime Minister of Spain
Prime Minister of Spain
The President of the Government of Spain , sometimes known in English as the Prime Minister of Spain, is the head of Government of Spain. The current office is established under the Constitution of 1978...
Antonio Cánovas del Castillo
Antonio Cánovas del Castillo
Antonio Cánovas del Castillo was a Spanish politician and historian known principally for his role in supporting the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy to the Spanish throne and for his death at the hands of an anarchist assassin, Michele Angiolillo.-Early career:Born in Málaga as the son of...
. The penalty was abolished by the Second Spanish Republic
Second Spanish Republic
The Second Spanish Republic was the government of Spain between April 14 1931, and its destruction by a military rebellion, led by General Francisco Franco....
in 1932 but restored two years later in the midst of social and political turmoil for a few major offences, not including murder. It was restored fully on decree of Franco in 1938, who oversaw a rapid number of executions in the early period of Francoist Spain (possibly amounting to hundreds of thousands), most of them extrajudicial. From 1940 to 1975, 165 judicial executions are reported to have been carried out, although especially the numbers following the civil war are very vague.
Use of the penalty became more scarce towards the end of Franco's reign; between 1950 and 1975 some 67 Spaniards (including two women) were executed by garrotte and 16 by firing squad, including a total of nine in the 1960s (less than in neighbouring France, although several of the convictions were considered political), one in 1972, and two in 1974. The latter ones (of Salvador Puig Antich and Heinz Chez) were allegedly held on the same day to deliberately confuse public sentiments and equalize the execution of a political opponent - both were convicted of killing Guardia Civil members - with that of a common murderer. The last five death sentences were executed in 1975, prompting Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme
Olof Palme
Sven Olof Joachim Palme was a Swedish politician. A long-time protegé of Prime Minister Tage Erlander, Palme led the Swedish Social Democratic Party from 1969 to his assassination, and was a two-term Prime Minister of Sweden, heading a Privy Council Government from 1969 to 1976 and a cabinet...
, amongst other harsh condemnations, to denounce the regime as "devilish murderers" the following day.