Jérôme Henri Carrein (2 July 1941 – 23 June 1977) was the second-to-last convicted criminal to be executed by

guillotine A guillotine is an apparatus designed for efficiently carrying out executions by beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secured with stocks at t ...

in France. On 27 October 1975 in

Arleux Arleux () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Geography The river Sensée joins the Canal du Nord at Arleux. Population Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 648 communes of ...

, Northern France, Carrein, father of five children, often of

no fixed abode In law, no fixed abode or without fixed abode is not having a fixed geographical location as a residence, commonly referred to as no fixed address. This is applicable to several groups: * People who have a home, but which is not always in the ...

, an

alcoholic Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomina ...

and a

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

sufferer, met Cathy Petit, an eight-year-old local girl. She was the daughter of the owner of a bar that Carrein frequented. Carrein enticed the girl to follow him into nearby marshlands to search for fish bait, dispatching the girl's brother Éric to report to their mother. Cathy and Carrein walked up to the swamps of

Palluel Palluel () is a Communes of France, commune in the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography Palluel is situated east of Arras, at the junction of the D21 and D13 roads, in the valley of ...

(Pas-de-Calais). Having arrived there, Carrein attempted to

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...

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 kidnapping and child murder, was guillotined 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 Patrick Henry (May 29, 1736June 6, 1799) was an American attorney, planter, politician and orator known for declaring to the Second Virginia Convention (1775): " Give me liberty, or give me death!" A Founding Father, he served as the first a ...

, 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 (; born 30 March 1928) is a French lawyer, politician and author who enacted the abolition of the death penalty in France in 1981, while serving as Minister of Justice under François Mitterrand. He has also served in high-lev ...

, and public outrage in France was particularly strong. Carrein was found guilty again and sentenced to death a second time. Carrein's mercy petition was turned down in mid-June 1977 by President

Valéry Giscard d'Estaing Valéry René Marie Georges Giscard d'Estaing (, , ; 2 February 19262 December 2020), also known as Giscard or VGE, was a French politician who served as President of France from 1974 to 1981. After serving as Minister of Finance under prime ...

. Carrein was guillotined by

Marcel Chevalier Marcel Chevalier (28 February 1921 in Montrouge, Hauts-de-Seine – 8 October 2008 in Vendôme) worked as the last chief executioner ( Monsieur de Paris) in France. He succeeded his wife's uncle, André Obrecht, in 1976 and held his position unti ...

at 04:30 on 23 June 1977 in the yard of Douai prison. Only one more convicted criminal,

Hamida Djandoubi Hamida Djandoubi ( ar, حميدة جندوبي, Ḥamīda Jandūbī; 22 September 1949 – 10 September 1977) was a Tunisian convicted murderer sentenced to death in France. He moved to Marseille in 1968, and six years later he kidnapped, torture ...

, would be executed by the guillotine in France.

General references

Article from ''La Voix du Nord'' (in French)

General references

Further reading