Jérôme Carrein
Encyclopedia
Jérôme 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. Petit was the daughter of the owner of a bar that Carrein frequented. He enticed the girl to follow him into nearby marshlands to search for fish bait. Having arrived there, Carrein attempted to rape
the child before strangling and drowning her.
Carrein was arrested the next day and quickly confessed to his crime. He was tried before the Pas-de-Calais criminal court at Saint Omer
, found guilty and sentenced to death on 12 July 1976. Christian Ranucci
, also sentenced to death for a child murder, was guillotine
d at Marseille's Baumettes prison
sixteen days later.
Carrein appealed against his sentence and was retried on 1 February 1977 at the criminal court in Douai. Two weeks before the second trial began, Patrick Henry, another child murderer, had narrowly escaped a death sentence at the criminal court in Troyes thanks to the skill of his lawyer, Robert Badinter
, and public outrage in France was particularly strong. Carrein was found guilty again and sentenced to death a second time.
Carrein's final appeal in mid-June 1977 was turned down by President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
. Carrein was guillotined at 04:30 on 23 June 1977 in the yard of Douai prison; the executioner was Marcel Chevalier
. Only one more convicted criminal - Hamida Djandoubi
- would suffer death upon the guillotine in France.
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...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
On 27 October 1975 in Arleux
Arleux
Arleux is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.-Heraldry:-References:*...
, Northern France, Jérôme Carrein, father of five children, often of no fixed abode
No fixed abode
No fixed abode or without fixed abode is a legal term generally applied to those who do not have a fixed geographical location as their residence...
, alcoholic and a tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
sufferer, met Cathy Petit, an eight-year-old local girl. Petit was the daughter of the owner of a bar that Carrein frequented. He enticed the girl to follow him into nearby marshlands to search for fish bait. Having arrived there, Carrein attempted to rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
the child before strangling and drowning her.
Carrein was arrested the next day and quickly confessed to his crime. He was tried before the Pas-de-Calais criminal court at Saint Omer
Saint-Omer, Calvados
Saint-Omer is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.-History:St.Omer was founded in the 7th century by monks, one of whom was called Omer. It became part of France in 1677. Le Blockhaus d'Eperlecques was the original bunker for manufacture of V2...
, found guilty and sentenced to death on 12 July 1976. Christian Ranucci
Christian Ranucci
Christian Ranucci was one of the last people executed in France, having been convicted of the abduction and murder of a young girl, Marie-Dolorès Rambla....
, also sentenced to death for a child murder, was 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...
d at Marseille's Baumettes prison
Baumettes Prison
Baumettes prison is a prison in the 9th arrondissement of Marseille. The prison is named after the district of Les Baumettes where it was constructed between 1933 and 1939...
sixteen days later.
Carrein appealed against his sentence and was retried on 1 February 1977 at the criminal court in Douai. Two weeks before the second trial began, Patrick Henry, another child murderer, had narrowly escaped a death sentence at the criminal court in Troyes thanks to the skill of his lawyer, 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...
, and public outrage in France was particularly strong. Carrein was found guilty again and sentenced to death a second time.
Carrein's final appeal in mid-June 1977 was turned down by President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Valéry Marie René Georges Giscard d'Estaing is a French centre-right politician who was President of the French Republic from 1974 until 1981...
. Carrein was guillotined at 04:30 on 23 June 1977 in the yard of Douai prison; the executioner was Marcel Chevalier
Marcel Chevalier
Marcel Chevalier worked as the last chief executioner 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...
. Only one more convicted criminal - Hamida Djandoubi
Hamida Djandoubi
Hamida 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...
- would suffer death upon the guillotine in France.