The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1889-01-02
HIS HEAD IN THE BASKET.
THE eUILLoTINE APPLIED TO PRA0o.
One OF the Greatest of Partisan Sensations
Ends With the Beheading of the
Principal-History of
Startling Crime.

PARIS, Dec. 2S.-Prado, the murderer of
Marie Aguetant, his mistress, was guillotined
this morning in the Place de Ia Roquette. He
preserved firm demeanor to the last lie re-
fused to make a confession and also declined
the services of the chaplain
An immense crowd collected outside the
prison last night and remained until Prado had
been executed. The rabble spent the time in
singing comic songs and amusing themselves
in other boisterouS ways. Prado slept well I'M
til 6 o'clock this morning. He protested his
innocence of the murder of Marie Aguetant to
the last, and declared against the injustice of
this world. He refused to disclose his real
name. When the iailer came to pinion his
limbs he offered no resistance, and while they
were engaged in the operation he shed one
tear. The sight OF the guillotine appeared to
hypnotic him.
The death was witnessed by 200 artists. news
paper men, actors, lawyers and politicians who
possessed influence sufficient to obtain admis-
sion within the sentry lines to the Place de la
Roquette. He died with much the same bra
vado as Pranzini, his former chum and coun-
terpart.
The scene was much more orderly, and not
the slightest mishap occurred in the work of
NJ. Deibler. In fifty seconds from his appear
ance at the prison gate his bleeding head lay
IN the basket. La front OF the gates OF the
prison where the execution took place were
a group of men, among whom were seen sew
eral OF the most distinguished men in France.
Near the line OF trees on the upper side OF the
path stood MOunet-SUlly of the Comedy Fran
caise; near hira Armand Sivestre and Henri
Rochefort. Alphonse Daudet was said to be
present.
Prado, in walking from the prison to the
guillotine, showed no signs of fear. His arms
were tightly piniOned behind his back, so
tightly, indeed, that his head was drawn far
beyond perpendicularity. His heavy locks,
seen 10 such advantage IN the courtroom when
he confronted and shook them at NJ. Gullot,
the judge d'instruction, were gone. His ap-
parel, seemingly, consisted of a heavy wooden
undershirt and dark trousers. The shirt had
been roughly cut away from about the neck
and shoulders
In front of the guillOtine a board stood up-
right TO hight OF five feet. In the top of it
was lunette. As PradO neared this board a
most dreadful series of Incidents followed each
other with the rapidity of lightning. The
trembling able stepped apart. Four burly
men, dressed in blouses OF blue and white
striped ticking, who had not been seen before,
sprang forward, seized the condemned man,
hurled him onward against the upright board
flung themselves upon him, and by their
weight bore the struggling victim, face down
ward, to the top of the low platform. That
board worked on q swivel and ran on rollers
In an instant it had been wheeled forward
until the neck was under the glistening knife,
upon which the morning light had begun to
CLEAN. NJ. Deibler, who had stood like a man
OF stone at the right of the guillotine during all
this terrible scene, now reached forward and
fixed a wooden collar over the back of the
prisoners neck. The knife was sprung and
the keen steel struck the neck as it might have
collided with a rubber car spring. Ii went
through and the head of Prado lay among the
shavings beyond. The surgeon placed his
hand on the trunk and said: II est mort"