Victor Prévost

The day after his trial, on 9 December in the afternoon, Prévost was transferred to the [[La Roquette Prisons|La Roquette Grand Prison]], a unique detention centre in which death row inmates were executed since 1851. On 13 December, he was visited by Father Crozes, the prison [[almoner]] and, from that moment, he showed an interest in practising religion. The next day he asked to attend [[Mass (liturgy)|mass]] and, on the following 11 January, he expressed to the abbot his wish to make his [[First Communion]] which he hadn't received in his childhood, a sacrament which he received on 16 January at 7 o'clock in the morning, in the prison chapel. On the evening of the ceremony, he wrote a last letter to his brother Adolphe, in which he acknowledged his errors, expressed his desire for repentance and demanded "a thousand pardons".<ref>{{Harvard citation no brackets|Abbé Moreau|1884}}</ref>

The day after his trial, on 9 December in the afternoon, Prévost was transferred to the [[La Roquette Prisons|La Roquette Grand Prison]], a unique detention centre in which death row inmates were executed since 1851. On 13 December, he was visited by Father Crozes, the prison [[almoner]] and, from that moment, he showed an interest in practising religion. The next day he asked to attend [[Mass (liturgy)|mass]] and, on the following 11 January, he expressed to the abbot his wish to make his [[First Communion]] which he hadn't received in his childhood, a sacrament which he received on 16 January at 7 o'clock in the morning, in the prison chapel. On the evening of the ceremony, he wrote a last letter to his brother Adolphe, in which he acknowledged his errors, expressed his desire for repentance and demanded "a thousand pardons".<ref>{{Harvard citation no brackets|Abbé Moreau|1884}}</ref>

On 26 December 1879, an appeal was dismissed by the Criminal Division of the cour d'assises.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=30 December 1879|title=Peines de mort - Pourvois - Rejets|url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k1258275x|journal=Le petit bulletin des tribunaux|language=fr}}</ref> The next day, his lawyer made him sign a petition for a [[pardon]]. The then-president, [[Jules Grévy]], generally wasn't very reluctant to grant pardons to those sentenced to death, but followed the recommendations of the commissions of pardons, which concluded that justice must follow its course because of the particularly sordid crimes and Prévost's profession. Grévy justified his decision to the condemned lawyer in the following letter: {{Blockquote|My predecessor, [[Patrice de MacMahon|Marshal MacMahon]], did not hesitate. Sébastien Billoir, former soldier, decorated with a military medal, was a pensioner of the State forfeited with honor. He died and signed his conviction.<ref group="Note">Sébastien Billoir, who had chopped the body of his victim Marie Le Menach in half, was executed on April 28, 1877.</ref> The former cent-gardes, who has become a peacekeeper, has by his double crime surpassed this man. It seems difficult to me now that he will suffer the same fate.|sign=|source=}}The pardon was formally rejected on 18 January, and Louis Deibler, recently appointed chief executioner on 15 May 1was summoned to the prosecutor's office of the Republic and issued the ultimate requisition: Order is given to the chief executioner of criminal judgments to seize Victor Prévost, sentenced to death by the cour d'assises of Seine, on 8 December 1879, and proceed with his execution in public on Monday, 19 January 1880, at seven o'clock in the morning.<ref name="Gustave Macé 1893"/>

On 26 December 1879, an appeal was dismissed by the Criminal Division of the cour d'assises.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=30 December 1879|title=Peines de mort - Pourvois - Rejets|url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k1258275x|journal=Le petit bulletin des tribunaux|language=fr}}</ref> The next day, his lawyer made him sign a petition for a [[pardon]]. The then-president, [[Jules Grévy]], generally wasn't very reluctant to grant pardons to those sentenced to death, but followed the recommendations of the commissions of pardons, which concluded that justice must follow its course because of the particularly sordid crimes and Prévost's profession. Grévy justified his decision to the condemned's lawyer in the following letter: {{Blockquote|My predecessor, [[Patrice de MacMahon|Marshal MacMahon]], did not hesitate. Sébastien Billoir, former soldier, decorated with a military medal, was a pensioner of the State forfeited with honor. He died and signed his conviction.<ref group="Note">Sébastien Billoir, who had chopped the body of his victim Marie Le Menach in half, was executed on April 28, 1877.</ref> The former cent-gardes, who has become a peacekeeper, has by his double crime surpassed this man. It seems difficult to me now that he will suffer the same fate.|sign=|source=}}The pardon was formally rejected on 18 January, and Louis Deibler, recently appointed chief executioner on 15 May 1was summoned to the prosecutor's office of the Republic and issued the ultimate requisition: Order is given to the chief executioner of criminal judgments to seize Victor Prévost, sentenced to death by the cour d'assises of Seine, on 8 December 1879, and proceed with his execution in public on Monday, 19 January 1880, at seven o'clock in the morning.<ref name="Gustave Macé 1893"/>

On the scheduled date and time, Prévost was executed publicly in front of the prison, in the freezing cold (-5&nbsp;°C).<ref name="raynaud68"/> It had previously snowed, and two huge snow mounds surrounded the square, plunging into near darkness. Since six o'clock in the morning, a hundred republican guards, fifty horsemen, and three hundred peacekeepers had taken their places to keep at a distance those who had come to watch the execution. Warned that his execution would take place at 6:30, Prévost was asked to put on a white shirt, which he refused, and to keep his slippers on because the boots would hurt his feet. He obeyed all the preparatory procedures for implementation and walked worthily to the scaffold.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=20 January 1880|title=L'exécution de Prévost|url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k5432148/f3.item|journal=La Presse|language=fr|issue=19|access-date=29 January 2017}}</ref> Between his identification and his execution, it took a little more than four months.

On the scheduled date and time, Prévost was executed publicly in front of the prison, in the freezing cold (-5&nbsp;°C).<ref name="raynaud68"/> It had previously snowed, and two huge snow mounds surrounded the square, plunging into near darkness. Since six o'clock in the morning, a hundred republican guards, fifty horsemen, and three hundred peacekeepers had taken their places to keep at a distance those who had come to watch the execution. Warned that his execution would take place at 6:30, Prévost was asked to put on a white shirt, which he refused, and to keep his slippers on because the boots would hurt his feet. He obeyed all the preparatory procedures for implementation and walked worthily to the scaffold.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=20 January 1880|title=L'exécution de Prévost|url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k5432148/f3.item|journal=La Presse|language=fr|issue=19|access-date=29 January 2017}}</ref> Between his identification and his execution, it took a little more than four months.