MovieChat Forums > The Day of the Jackal (1973) Discussion > Why wasn't Bastien-Thiry guillotined?

Why wasn't Bastien-Thiry guillotined?


Was Bastien-Thiry's execution a mistake in the screenplay? Thought French
felons who got the death penalty were always guillotined.

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No, they were the last people to be executed by firing squad in france.
Read their names and stories up on wikipedia.

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I always assumed the firing squad was because he was a military man,not just a common criminal.

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The firing squad was reserved for crimes against the state under Article 13 of the French Penal Code (prior to 1981).

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