Wikipedia knows everything. That's where I found the following: "Robert Damiens, who was mentally unstable, had been a servant of members of the Parlement of Paris where he had heard much criticism of the king (Louis XV). This, combined with the violent pamphlets and general discontent with the king, convinced him that he had to murder him in order to save France. Other sources say that he did not want to kill the king, but merely to give him a warning and thus force him to change his behavior. In any case, it was the first attempt at regicide in France since the murder of King Henry IV in 1610.
Tried by the Parlement of Paris, Damiens was executed on 28 March 1757, following the procedure applied to regicides: after numerous tortures, Damiens was carried to the plaza in the cold afternoon of that day. There, he was first tortured with red-hot pincers; his hand, holding the knife used in the attempted murder, was burnt using sulphur; molten wax, lead, and boiling oil were poured into his wounds. Horses were then harnessed to his arms and legs for his dismemberment. Damiens's joints would not break; after some hours, representatives of the Parliament ordered the executioner and his aides to cut Damiens's joints. Damiens was then dismembered, to the applause of the crowd. His trunk, apparently still living, was then burnt at the stake. There was an immense crowd to watch the spectacle, which nobody had witnessed in 147 years. Balconies in buildings above the Place de Grève were rented to women of the aristocracy for the exorbitant price of 100 pounds per balcony (approx. $775 in 2008 US dollars). This tale of Damiens' brutal execution, recounted in the opening pages of some well-known book, has been disputed by numerous historians." I wasn’t there, but I believe the story. Historians, like economists, don’t know anything. Pretty soon, they'll be telling us the Spanish Inquisition never happened. There was money to be made in public executions, especially if they were gory and strange and gruesome. Poor Damiens, he lived in the wrong epoch. Today, he would have been judged not guilty by reason of insanity. He would have enjoyed a life of leisure in some sanatorium, watching cable TV, reading the latest books, the finest magazines and newspapers, and eating plenty of healthy food.
Tried by the Parlement of Paris, Damiens was executed on 28 March 1757, following the procedure applied to regicides: after numerous tortures, Damiens was carried to the plaza in the cold afternoon of that day. There, he was first tortured with red-hot pincers; his hand, holding the knife used in the attempted murder, was burnt using sulphur; molten wax, lead, and boiling oil were poured into his wounds. Horses were then harnessed to his arms and legs for his dismemberment. Damiens's joints would not break; after some hours, representatives of the Parliament ordered the executioner and his aides to cut Damiens's joints. Damiens was then dismembered, to the applause of the crowd. His trunk, apparently still living, was then burnt at the stake. There was an immense crowd to watch the spectacle, which nobody had witnessed in 147 years. Balconies in buildings above the Place de Grève were rented to women of the aristocracy for the exorbitant price of 100 pounds per balcony (approx. $775 in 2008 US dollars). This tale of Damiens' brutal execution, recounted in the opening pages of some well-known book, has been disputed by numerous historians." I wasn’t there, but I believe the story. Historians, like economists, don’t know anything. Pretty soon, they'll be telling us the Spanish Inquisition never happened. There was money to be made in public executions, especially if they were gory and strange and gruesome. Poor Damiens, he lived in the wrong epoch. Today, he would have been judged not guilty by reason of insanity. He would have enjoyed a life of leisure in some sanatorium, watching cable TV, reading the latest books, the finest magazines and newspapers, and eating plenty of healthy food.
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