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99-734: The Edith Cavell Memorial is an outdoor memorial to Edith Cavell by Sir George Frampton , in London, United Kingdom. The memorial is sited in St Martin's Place, beside the A400 , just outside the northeast corner of Trafalgar Square , north of St Martin-in-the-Fields , east of the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery , and south of the London Coliseum . The site is adjacent to

198-506: A martyr   ... but she was ready to die for her country   ... Miss Cavell was a very brave woman and a faithful Christian ". Another account from Anglican chaplain, the Reverend Gahan, remembers Cavell's words, "I have no fear or shrinking; I have seen death so often it is not strange, or fearful to me!" In this interpretation, her stoicism was seen as remarkable for a non-combatant woman, and brought her even greater renown than

297-479: A 10 feet (3.0 m) high statue of Cavell in her nurse's uniform sculpted from white Carrara marble , standing on a grey Cornish granite pedestal. The statue stands in front of the south side of a larger grey granite pylon which stands 40 feet (12 m) high and weighs 175 tons. The top of the block is carved into a cross and statue of a mother and child, sometimes interpreted as the Virgin and Child . The whole memorial

396-580: A German firing squad on 12 October 1915. Her story was used in British propaganda as an example of German barbarism and moral depravity. Her remains were initially buried in Belgium, but returned to Britain after the war in May 1919 for a state funeral at Westminster Abbey before she was finally buried at Norwich Cathedral . Although Cavell's sister, Lilian Wainwright, suggested that no monuments should be erected, funds for

495-930: A German national. She may have been recruited by the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), and turned away from her espionage duties in order to help Allied soldiers escape, although this is not widely accepted. Rankin cites the published statement of M. R. D. Foot , historian and Second World War British intelligence officer, as to Cavell having been part of SIS or MI6. The former director-general of MI5, Stella Rimington , announced in 2015 that she had unearthed documents in Belgian military archives that confirmed an intelligence-gathering aspect to Cavell's network. The BBC Radio 4 programme that presented Rimington's quote, noted Cavell's use of secret codes and, though amateurish, other network members' successful transmission of intelligence. When in custody, Cavell

594-669: A Saudi executioner, has said that he has conducted some executions by shooting. Mishaal bint Fahd bin Mohammed Al Saud , a Saudi princess, was also executed in the same way. Two soldiers of the Bushveldt Carbineers , Breaker Morant and Peter Handcock , were executed by a British firing squad in the South African Republic on 27 February 1902 for war crimes they committed during the Second Boer War . Since

693-425: A U.S. military commission and sentenced to death. On 11 November 1944 they were shot in the garden of a farmhouse at Toul . The footage of Wende's execution as well as Kortas's is shown in these links. On 31 January 1945, U.S. Army Pvt. Edward "Eddie" Slovik was executed by firing squad for desertion near the village of Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines . He was the first American soldier executed for such offense since

792-651: A UK commemorative £5 coin, part of a set issued in 2015 by the Royal Mint to mark the centenary of the war. On 12 October that year a bust in the Montjoiepark in Uccle , Belgium, was inaugurated by Princess Anne, Princess Royal of Great Britain and Princess Astrid of Belgium . 2015 also saw a tombstone-shaped monument erected in the memorial garden dedicated to her in Inverness. On the centenary of her execution, an event funded by

891-467: A man in similar circumstances would have received. The Imperial German Government thought that it had acted fairly towards Cavell. In a letter, German Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs, Alfred Zimmermann (not to be confused with Arthur Zimmermann , German Secretary for Foreign Affairs) made a statement to the press on behalf of the German government: It was a pity that Miss Cavell had to be executed, but it

990-477: A measure of plausible deniability that they, personally, did not fire a bullet at all. In practice however, firing a live round produces significant recoil, while firing a blank round does not. In more current times such as during the 2010 execution of Ronnie Lee Gardner in Utah , US, one rifleman may be given a "dummy" cartridge containing a wax bullet , which provides a more realistic recoil. Manuel Dorrego ,

1089-575: A memorial on the Kent & East Sussex Railway and is usually open to view at Bodiam railway station , though during October 2015 it was placed on display outside the Forum , Norwich. From Victoria the body was processed to Westminster Abbey for a state funeral on 15 May, before finally being reburied at the east side of Norwich Cathedral on 19 May, where a graveside service is still held each October. Following Cavell's death, many memorials were created around

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1188-788: A memorial service, performed live on BBC Radio 4 on 11 October 2015. In addition to cathedral clergy, guests such as General Richard Dannatt , and actress Matilda Ziegler performed various spoken vignettes organised by Canon Peter Doll. Anto Morra sang unaccompanied his "Edith Louisa Cavell" lyrics to a tune written by Percy Paradise. The centenary was also marked by two new musical compositions. The 40-minute oratorio Eventide: In Memoriam Edith Cavell by Patrick Hawes premiered in Norwich Cathedral in July 2014 and had its London premiere in St Clement Danes , The Strand, London on 12 October 2015,

1287-506: A midnight deputation of appeal for mercy or at least postponement of execution. Despite these efforts, on 11 October, Baron von der Lancken allowed the execution to proceed. Sixteen men, forming two firing squads, carried out the sentence pronounced on her and on four Belgian men at the Tir national shooting range in Schaerbeek , at 7:00   am on 12 October 1915. There are conflicting reports of

1386-581: A previous defender, who was chosen for Cavell by her assistant, Elizabeth Wilkins, was ultimately rejected by the governor. The night before her execution, Cavell told the Reverend H Stirling Gahan, the Anglican chaplain of Christ Church Brussels, who had been allowed to see her and to give her Holy Communion , "I am thankful to have had these ten weeks of quiet to get ready. Now I have had them and have been kindly treated here. I expected my sentence and I believe it

1485-401: A prominent Argentine statesman and soldier who governed Buenos Aires in the 1820s, was executed by firing squad on 12 December 1828 after being defeated in battle by Juan Lavalle and later convicted of treason. On 12 October 1915 British nurse Edith Cavell was executed by a German firing squad at the Tir national shooting range at Schaerbeek , after being convicted of "conveying troops to

1584-516: A public memorial were raised by a committee chaired by Harry Levy-Lawson, 1st Viscount Burnham , owner of The Daily Telegraph , together with the Lord Mayor of London , the Bishop of London , and the chairman of London County Council . Sculptor Sir George Frampton accepted the commission in 1915, but declined any fee. Frampton adopted a distinctively Modernist style for the memorial, which comprises

1683-554: A reply to enemy attempts to justify her shooting, including the suggestion that Cavell, during her interrogation, had given information that incriminated others. In November 1915, the British Foreign Office issued a denial that Cavell had implicated anyone else in her testimony. One image commonly represented was of Cavell as an innocent victim of a ruthless and dishonourable enemy. This view depicted her as having helped Allied soldiers to escape, but innocent of 'espionage', and

1782-539: A side of Cavell during the First World War saw her described as a serious, reserved, brave, and patriotic woman who devoted her life to nursing and died to save others. This portrayal has been illustrated in numerous biographical sources, from personal first-hand experiences of the Red Cross nurse. Pastor Le Seur, the German army chaplain, recalled at the time of her execution, "I do not believe that Miss Cavell wanted to be

1881-569: A statement the day before the trial. Cavell declared that the soldiers she had helped escape thanked her in writing when they arrived safely in Britain. This admission confirmed that Cavell had not only helped the soldiers navigate the Dutch frontier, but it also established that she helped them escape to a country at war with Germany. Her fellow defendants included Prince Reginald's sister, Princess Marie of Croÿ . The penalty, according to German military law,

1980-597: A temporary post as matron of the Manchester and Salford Sick and Poor and Private Nursing Institution, working there for about nine months. In 1907, Cavell was recruited by Dr. Antoine Depage , the Belgian royal surgeon, and the founder and president of the Belgian Red Cross , to be matron of a newly established nursing school, L'École Belge d'Infirmières Diplômées (or the Berkendael Medical Institute) on

2079-488: Is elevated on three steps. On the pedestal beneath the statue of Cavell is an inscription which reads: "Edith Cavell // Brussels // Dawn // October 12th 1915 // Patriotism is not enough // I must have no hatred or // bitterness for anyone." The last three lines of the inscription quote her comment to Reverend Stirling Gahan, an Anglican chaplain who was permitted to give her Holy Communion on the night before her execution. These words were initially left off, and added in 1924 at

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2178-483: Is known to have stated that Cavell should be pardoned because of her complete honesty and because she had helped save so many lives, German as well as Allied. However, General von Sauberzweig , the military governor of Brussels, ordered that "in the interests of the State" the implementation of the death penalty against Baucq and Cavell should be immediate, denying higher authorities an opportunity to consider clemency. Cavell

2277-570: Is likely to go hard with Miss Cavell; I am afraid we are powerless." Lord Robert Cecil , Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, advised that, "Any representation by us will do her more harm than good." The United States , however, had not yet joined the war and was in a position to apply diplomatic pressure. Hugh S. Gibson , Secretary to the U.S. Legation at Brussels, made clear to the German government that executing Cavell would further harm Germany's already damaged reputation. Later, he wrote: We reminded [German civil governor Baron von der Lancken] of

2376-494: Is normally composed of at least several soldiers, all of whom are usually instructed to fire simultaneously, thus preventing both disruption of the process by one member and identification of who fired the lethal shot. To avoid disfigurement due to multiple shots to the head, the shooters are typically instructed to aim at the heart , sometimes aided by a paper or cloth target. The prisoner is typically blindfolded or hooded as well as restrained. Executions can be carried out with

2475-535: Is now Rizal Park , where his remains have since been placed. While in [Cavite] there were 13 people who executed by firing squad. They are known today as 13 martyrs of Cavite. During the Marcos administration, drug trafficking was punishable by firing-squad execution, as was done to Lim Seng. Execution by firing squad was later replaced by the electric chair , then lethal injection . On 24 June 2006, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo abolished capital punishment through

2574-582: Is safe, and that I am glad to die for my country." From his sick bed Brand Whitlock , the U.S. ambassador to Belgium, wrote a personal note on Cavell's behalf to Moritz von Bissing , the Governor-General of Belgium. Hugh Gibson; Maitre G. de Leval, the legal adviser to the United States legation; and Rodrigo de Saavedra y Vinent  [ es ] , 2nd Marques de Villalobar, the Spanish minister, formed

2673-530: The American Journal of Nursing repeated the fictional account of Cavell's execution in which she fainted and fell because of her refusal to wear a blindfold in front of the firing squad. Allegedly, while she lay unconscious, the German commanding officer shot her dead with a revolver. Because of the British Government's decision to publicise Cavell's story as part of its propaganda effort, she became

2772-653: The 2002 Bali bombing — Amrozi , Imam Samudra and Ali Ghufron —were executed on the same spot in Nusakambangan. In January 2013 56-year-old British woman Lindsay Sandiford was sentenced to execution by firing squad for importing a large amount of cocaine; she lost her appeal against her sentence in April 2013. On 18 January 2015, under the new leadership of Joko Widodo , six people sentenced to death for producing and smuggling drugs into Indonesia were executed at Nusa Kambangan Penitentiary shortly after midnight. Following

2871-774: The American Civil War . On 15 October 1945 Pierre Laval , the puppet leader of Nazi-occupied Vichy France , was executed for treason at Fresnes Prison in Paris. On 11 March 1963 Jean Bastien-Thiry was the last person to be executed by firing squad for a failed attempt to assassinate French president Charles de Gaulle . Execution by firing squad is the capital punishment method used in Indonesia. The following persons were executed (reported by BBC World Service) by firing squad on 29 April 2015 following convictions for drug offences: two Australians, Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan ,

2970-468: The Edith Cavell Memorial opposite the entrance to the National Portrait Gallery near Trafalgar Square . Her strong Anglican beliefs propelled her to help all those who needed it, including both German and Allied soldiers. She was quoted as saying, "I can't stop while there are lives to be saved." The Church of England commemorates her in its Calendar of Saints on 12 October. Cavell, who

3069-669: The Lusitania , Cavell's execution was widely publicised in both Britain and North America by Wellington House , the British War Propaganda Bureau. She was a popular icon because of her sex, her nursing profession, and her apparently heroic approach to death. Her execution was represented as an act of German barbarism and moral depravity - very much at variance with Cavell's own clearly stated wish to have "no hatred or bitterness towards anyone." News reports shortly after Cavell's execution were found to be only true in part. Even

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3168-463: The Spanish transition to democracy in 1977 the new Spanish constitution prohibits the death penalty. Previously, execution by firing squad was reserved for cases under military jurisdiction. As in the rest of Europe, the death penalty ordered by a civil court was carried out by other methods clearly different from execution. In modern times, mainly by hanging or garrote . During the decolonization of

3267-681: The University of Salford took place at Sacred Trinity where historian Sir Ian Kershaw and Christine Hallett of the UK Centre for the History of Nursing and Midwifery, spoke. The memorial on her grave was renewed in 2016. On 4 December 2018 a Google Doodle was created to celebrate her 153rd birthday. The centenary of her repatriation in May 2019 was marked by another half-muffled peal of bells at St Martin's Church in Dover. Firing squad A firing squad

3366-508: The burning of Louvain and the sinking of the Lusitania , and told him that this murder would rank with those two affairs and would stir all civilized countries with horror and disgust. Count Harrach broke in at this with the rather irrelevant remark that he would rather see Miss Cavell shot than have harm come to the humblest German soldier, and his only regret was that they had not "three or four old English women to shoot." Baron von der Lancken

3465-569: The capitulation of Nazi Germany , two German Navy deserters were shot by a firing squad composed of other German prisoners kept in the Canadian -run prisoner-of-war camp . The men were lined up against the wall of an air raid shelter near an abandoned Ford Motor Company assembly plant in the presence of Canadian military. Nigeria executes criminals who committed armed robberies—such as Ishola Oyenusi , Lawrence Anini and Osisikankwu —as well as military officers convicted of plotting coups against

3564-480: The (German) occupation'. Benn wrote a detailed account titled "Wie Miss Cavell erschossen wurde" ( How Miss Cavell was shot , 1928). There is also a dispute over the sentencing imposed under the German Military Code. Supposedly, the death penalty relevant to the offence committed by Cavell was not officially declared until a few hours after her death. The British post-war Committee of Enquiry into Breaches of

3663-660: The 1916 Easter Rising in Ireland, 15 of the 16 leaders who were executed were shot by the Dublin Castle administration under martial law . The executions have often been cited as a reason for how the Rising managed to galvanise public support in Ireland after the failed rebellion. Following the Anglo-Irish Treaty , a split in the government and the Dail led to a Civil War during which

3762-514: The Americas , several heroes of the independence of the former viceroyalties were executed by firing squad, including Camilo Torres Tenorio , Antonio Baraya , Antonio Villavicencio , José María Carbonell , Francisco José de Caldas , Jorge Tadeo Lozano , Policarpa Salavarrieta , María Antonia Santos Plata , José María Morelos , Mariano Matamoros , etc. At the time of the Spanish Civil War

3861-829: The Cerro de las Campanas after the Juaristas took control of Mexico in 1867. Manet immortalized the execution in a now-famous painting, The Execution of Emperor Maximilian ; he painted at least three versions. Firing-squad execution was the most common way to carry out a death sentence in Mexico, especially during the Mexican Revolution and the Cristero War . An example of that is in the attempted execution of Wenseslao Moguel , who survived being shot ten times—once at point-blank range—because he fought under Pancho Villa . After these events,

3960-615: The First World War broke out, Cavell was visiting her widowed mother in Norfolk. She returned to Brussels, where her clinic and nursing school were taken over by the Red Cross . In November 1914, after the German occupation of Brussels , Cavell began sheltering British soldiers and funnelling them out of occupied Belgium to the neutral Netherlands . Wounded British and French soldiers as well as Belgian and French civilians of military age were hidden from

4059-504: The Free State Government sanctioned the executions by firing squad of 81 persons. Included in those numbers were some prominent prisoners who were executed without trial as reprisals. Italy had used the firing squad as its only form of death penalty, both for civilians and military, since the unification of the country in 1861. The death penalty was abolished completely by both Italian Houses of Parliament in 1889 but revived under

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4158-699: The French period, with perhaps the most notable examples being Dun Mikiel Xerri and other patriots in 1799. The British also used the practice briefly, and for the last time in 1813, when two men were shot separately outside the courthouse after being convicted of failing to report their infection of plague to the authorities. During the Mexican Independence War , several Independentist generals (such as Miguel Hidalgo and José María Morelos ) were executed by Spanish firing squads. Also, Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico and two of his generals were executed in

4257-473: The German police (on 8, 18 and 22 August), admitting that she had been instrumental in conveying about 60 British and 15 French soldiers, as well as about 100 French and Belgian civilians of military age, to the frontier and had sheltered most of them in her house. At her court-martial , Cavell was prosecuted for aiding British and French soldiers, and young Belgian men, to cross the Dutch border and eventually enter Britain. She admitted her guilt when she signed

4356-581: The Germans and provided with false papers by Prince Réginald de Croÿ at his château of Bellignies near Mons. From there, they were conducted by various guides to the houses of Cavell, Louis Séverin, and others in Brussels, where their hosts would furnish them with money to reach the Dutch frontier, and provide them with guides obtained through Philippe Baucq. This placed Cavell in violation of German military law . German authorities became increasingly suspicious of

4455-774: The Ghanaian Martin Anderson, the Indonesian Zainal Abidin bin Mgs Mahmud Badarudin, three Nigerians: Raheem Agbaje Salami, Sylvester Obiekwe Nwolise and Okwudili Oyatanze, as well as Brazilian Rodrigo Gularte . In 2006 Fabianus Tibo , Dominggus da Silva and Marinus Riwu were executed. Nigerian drug smugglers Samuel Iwachekwu Okoye and Hansen Anthoni Nwaolisa were executed in June 2008 in Nusakambangan Island. Five months later three men convicted for

4554-726: The Italian dictatorship of Benito Mussolini in 1926. Mussolini was himself shot in the last days of World War II. On 1 December 1945 Anton Dostler , the first German general to be tried for war crimes , was executed by a U.S. firing squad in Aversa after being found guilty by a U.S. military tribunal of ordering the killing of 15 U.S. prisoners of war in Italy during World War II. The last execution took place on 4 March 1947, as Francesco La Barbera, Giovanni Puleo and Giovanni D'Ignoti, sentenced to death on multiple accounts of robbery and murder, faced

4653-585: The Laws of War however regarded the verdict as legally correct. On instructions from the Spanish minister, Belgian women immediately buried Cavell's body next to Saint-Gilles Prison. After the war, her body was taken back to Britain for a memorial service at Westminster Abbey and then transferred to Norwich , to be laid to rest at Life's Green on the east side of the cathedral. The King had to grant an exception to an Order in Council of 1854, which prevented any burials in

4752-500: The Rue de la Culture (now Rue Franz Merjay), in Ixelles , Brussels. By 1910, "Miss Cavell 'felt that the profession of nursing had gained sufficient foothold in Belgium to warrant the publishing of a professional journal' and launched the nursing journal, L'infirmière ". Within a year, she was training nurses for three hospitals, twenty-four schools, and thirteen kindergartens in Belgium. Cavell

4851-731: The Second World War. The military personnel sentenced to death during World War II had their sentences reduced by the President of the Republic. Following the military overthrow of the democratically elected government of Salvador Allende in 1973, Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet initiated a series of war tribunal trials against leftist people around the country. During the first months after his coup, hundreds of people were killed by firing squads and summary executions. Cuba, as part of its penal system, still utilizes death by firing squad, although

4950-402: The age of 30, Cavell applied to become a nurse probationer at the London Hospital and commenced as a regular probationer at the London Hospital in September 1896 under Matron Eva Luckes . Cavell was seconded to work with other London Hospital nurses in the Maidstone typhoid epidemic , from 15 October 1897 until early January 1898, while still a probationer. Along with other staff, she

5049-424: The army for executions during combat on the orders of military tribunals. In the Soviet Union, from the very earliest days, the bullet to the back of the head, in front of a ready-dug burial trench was by far the most common practice. It became especially widely used during the Great Purge . Executions in Saudi Arabia are usually carried out by beheading ; however, at times other methods have been used. Al-Beshi,

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5148-401: The condemned either standing or sitting. There is a tradition in some jurisdictions that such executions are carried out at first light or at sunrise, giving rise to the phrase "shot at dawn". Execution by firing squad is a specific practice that is distinct from other forms of execution by firearms , such as an execution by shot(s) to the back of the head or neck. However, the single shot by

5247-405: The convicted people were thoroughly aware of the nature of their acts. The court paid particular attention to this point, releasing several people because there was doubt as to whether the accused knew that their actions were punishable. The condemned, in contrast, knew full well what they were doing and the punishment for committing their crimes because "numerous public proclamations had pointed out

5346-450: The crimes that are subject to the death penalty. The death penalty is never the only possible sentence for a crime, and the punishment must be imposed by the military courts system. Per the norms of the Brazilian Code of Military Penal Procedure, the death penalty is carried out by firing squad. Although Brazil still permits the use of capital punishment during wartime, no convicts were actually executed during Brazil's last military conflict,

5445-490: The death sentence was imposed for fewer types of crimes in Article 22 of the Mexican Constitution ; however, in 2005 capital punishment was constitutionally prohibited, and there has not been a judicial execution since 1961. During the Nazi occupation in World War II some 3,000 persons were executed by German firing squads. The victims were sometimes sentenced by a military court; in other cases they were hostages or arbitrary pedestrians who were executed publicly to intimidate

5544-407: The deaths of sovereigns. All the ringers were former soldiers, including Frederick W Elliot, formerly King's Royal Rifle Corps , who had been a prisoner of war in Germany for eight months. Her body was transferred to a railway van and lay in state on the pier overnight before departing from Dover Harbour station for London Victoria station. Becoming known as the Cavell Van , that van is kept as

5643-408: The details of Cavell's execution. However, according to the eyewitness account of the Reverend Le Seur, who attended Cavell in her final hours, eight soldiers fired at Cavell while the other eight executed Baucq. Her execution, certification of death, and burial were witnessed by the German war poet Gottfried Benn in his capacity as a 'Senior Doctor in the Brussels Government since the first days of

5742-434: The enactment of Republic Act No. 9346. Existing death row inmates, who numbered in the thousands, were eventually given life sentences or reclusion perpetua instead. Nicolae Ceaușescu was executed by firing squad alongside his wife while singing the Communist Internationale following a show trial, bringing an end to the Romanian Revolution , on Christmas Day, 1989. In Imperial Russia, firing squads were used in

5841-752: The enemy" during the First World War. On 1 April 1916 a Belgian woman, Gabrielle Petit , was executed by a German firing squad at Schaerbeek after being convicted of spying for the British Secret Service during World War I. During the Battle of the Bulge in World War II, three captured German spies were tried and executed by a U.S. firing squad at Henri-Chapelle on 23 December 1944. Thirteen other Germans were also tried and shot at either Henri-Chapelle or Huy . These executed spies took part in Waffen-SS commando Otto Skorzeny 's Operation Greif , in which English-speaking German commandos operated behind U.S. lines, masquerading in U.S. uniforms and equipment. The Brazilian Constitution of 1988 expressly prohibits

5940-404: The enemy", a crime normally punishable by life imprisonment in peacetime. It was possible to charge Cavell with perfidy , or war treason ( German : Kriegsverrat ), as paragraph 160 of the German Military Code extended application of paragraph 58 to foreigners "present in the zone of war". While the First Geneva Convention ordinarily guaranteed protection of medical personnel, such protection

6039-404: The exact centenary of her death. The Belgian Edith Cavell Commemoration Group also commissioned a 20-minute-long setting of the Latin Mass by David Mitchell for the centenary - it premiered in Holy Trinity Pro-Cathedral, Brussels on 10 October 2015, in the same choir stalls where Cavell sang in 1915, with Haydn's Missa in Angustiis also performed at the same concert. Cavell was featured on

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6138-404: The executions were carried out by the regimental military police platoon, or by the local military police in the case of spies. One Finn, Toivo Koljonen , was executed for a civilian crime (six murders). Most executions occurred in 1941 and during the Soviet Summer Offensive in 1944. The last death sentences were given in 1945 for murder, but later commuted to life imprisonment. The death penalty

6237-405: The fact that aiding enemies’ armies was punishable with death." Cavell's remains were returned to Britain after the war, sailing from Ostend aboard the destroyer HMS Rowena and landing at Admiralty Pier in Dover on 14 May 1919. Cavell's was one of only three sets of British remains repatriated following the end of the War, the others being Charles Fryatt and The Unknown Warrior . As

6336-489: The firing squad at the range of Basse di Stura, near Turin . Soon after the Constitution of the newly proclaimed Republic prohibited the death penalty except for some crimes, like high treason, during wartime; no one was sentenced to death after 1947. In 2007 the Constitution was amended to ban the death penalty altogether. Firing squads were used during the periods of French and British control in Malta . Ringleaders of rebellions were often shot dead by firing squad during

6435-476: The first headquarters of the British Red Cross , originally located at 7 St Martin's Place. Cavell was a British nurse from Norfolk. She was matron at Berkendael Medical Institute in Brussels when the First World War broke out in 1914. In addition to nursing soldiers from both sides without distinction, she assisted some 200 Allied soldiers to escape from German-occupied Belgium. She was arrested in August 1915, court-martialled, found guilty of treason, and shot by

6534-482: The future". During the months following the triumph of the Cuban Revolution in 1959, soldiers of the Batista government and political opponents to the revolution were executed by firing squad. The death penalty was widely used during and after the Finnish Civil War (January–May 1918); some 9,700 Finns and an unknown number of Russian volunteers on the Red side were executed during the war or in its aftermath. Most executions were carried out by firing squads after

6633-436: The government, such as Buka Suka Dimka and Maj. Gideon Orkar , by firing squad. Vidkun Quisling , the leader of the collaborationist Nasjonal Samling Party and president of Norway during the German occupation in World War II, was sentenced to death for treason and executed by firing squad on 24 October 1945 at the Akershus Fortress . Jose Rizal was executed by firing squad on the morning of 30 December 1896, in what

6732-401: The grounds of the cathedral, to allow the reburial. In the months and years following Cavell's death, countless newspaper articles, pamphlets, images, and books publicised her story. She became an iconic propaganda figure for military recruitment in Britain, and to help increase favourable sentiment towards the Allies in the United States. Along with the invasion of Belgium, and the sinking of

6831-466: The last recorded execution was in 2003. In January 1992 a Cuban exile convicted of "terrorism, sabotage and enemy propaganda" was executed by firing squad. The Council of the State noted that the punishment served as a deterrent and stated that the death penalty "fulfills a goal of overall prevention, especially when the idea is to stop such loathsome actions from being repeated, to deter others and so to prevent innocent human lives from being endangered in

6930-415: The last second to face them, but this is unconfirmed. Sometimes, one or more soldiers of the firing squad may be issued a rifle containing a blank cartridge . In such cases, soldiers of the firing squad are not told beforehand whether they are using live or blank ammunition. This is believed to reinforce the sense of diffusion of responsibility among the firing squad members. It provides each member with

7029-412: The most prominent British female casualty of the First World War. The combination of heroic appeal and a resonant atrocity-story narrative made Cavell's case one of the most effective in British propaganda of the First World War. Before the First World War, Cavell was not well known outside nursing circles. This allowed two different depictions of the truth about her in British propaganda , which were

7128-463: The nurse's actions, which were further fuelled by her outspokenness. Cavell was arrested on 3 August 1915 and charged with harbouring Allied soldiers. She had been betrayed by Georges Gaston Quien, who was later convicted by a French court as a collaborator. Cavell was held in Saint-Gilles prison for ten weeks, the last two of which were spent in solitary confinement. She made three depositions to

7227-588: The phrase " ¡Al paredón! " ("To the wall!") to express the death threat to whom certain blame is attributed to be summarily executed. " Dar un paseo " (Going for a walk) is the euphemism of a series of violent episodes and political repression that occurred during the Spanish Civil War, which took place on both the Republican and the Nationalist factions , looking for victims with the excuse of taking them for

7326-580: The population. After the attack on high-ranking German officer Hanns Albin Rauter , about 300 people were executed publicly as reprisal against resistance movements. Rauter himself was executed near Scheveningen on 12 January 1949, following his conviction for war crimes. Anton Mussert , a Dutch Nazi leader, was sentenced to death by firing squad and executed in the dunes near The Hague on 7 May 1946. While under Allied guard in Amsterdam, and five days after

7425-506: The privilege of giving the order to fire. An example of this is Marshal of France Michel Ney . As a means of insulting the condemned, however, past executions have had them shot in the back, denied blindfolds, or even tied to chairs. When Galeazzo Ciano , son-in-law of Benito Mussolini , and several other former fascists who voted to remove Mussolini from power were executed, they were tied to chairs facing away from their executioners. By some reports, Ciano managed to twist his chair around at

7524-549: The request of the National Council of Women . The face of the granite block behind the statue of Cavell bears the inscription "Humanity", and higher up, below the Virgin and Child, "For King and Country". Other faces of the block bear the inscriptions, "Devotion", "Fortitude", and "Sacrifice". On the rear face of the block is a carving of a lion crushing a serpent, and higher up, the inscription, "Faithful until death". The memorial

7623-497: The sentences were given by illegal or semi-legal courts martial . Only some 250 persons were sentenced to death in courts acting on legal authority. During World War II some 500 persons were executed, half of them condemned spies. The usual causes for death penalty for Finnish citizens were treason and high treason (and to a lesser extent cowardice and disobedience , applicable for military personnel). Almost all cases of capital punishment were tried by court-martial. Usually

7722-469: The ship arrived, a full peal of Grandsire Triples (5040 Changes, Parker's Twelve-Part) was rung on the bells of St Mary's Church in the town. A plaque commemorating the peal in the church's bell-ringing chamber states it was "Rung with the bells deeply muffled with the exception of the Tenor which was open at back stroke, in token of respect to Nurse Cavell.” Deep (or full) muffling is normally only used for

7821-473: The squad's officer with a pistol ( coup de grâce ) is sometimes incorporated in a firing squad execution, particularly if the initial volley turns out not to be immediately fatal. Before the introduction of firearms, bows or crossbows were often used— Saint Sebastian is usually depicted as executed by a squad of Roman auxiliary archers in around AD 288; King Edmund the Martyr of East Anglia , by some accounts,

7920-579: The town of Vincennes after being convicted of spying for Germany during World War I. During World War II, on 24 September 1944, Josef Wende and Stephan Kortas, two Poles drafted into the German army, crossed the Moselle Rivers behind U.S. lines in civilian clothes to observe Allied strength and were to rejoin their own army on the same day. However, they were discovered by the Americans and arrested. On 18 October 1944 they were found guilty of espionage by

8019-531: The usage of capital punishment in peacetime, but authorizes the use of the death penalty for military crimes committed during wartime. War must be declared formally, in accordance with international law and article 84, item 19 of the Federal Constitution, with due authorization from the Brazilian Congress. The Brazilian Code of Military Penal Law, in its chapter dealing with wartime offences, specifies

8118-639: The view that it was up to the responsible men to follow their legal duty to Germany and ignore the world's condemnation. Its laws did not make distinctions between sexes; the only exception to this being that, according to legal customs, women in a "delicate" (probably this means "pregnant") condition should not be executed. However, in January 1916, the Kaiser decreed that, from then on, capital punishment should not be carried out on women without his explicit prior endorsement. The German government also believed that all of

8217-538: The world to remember her. Although the centenary of her death was in 2015, she was also remembered by three new musical pieces in 2014 during commemorations of the outbreak of World War One - To commemorate the centenary of her death in 2015, work went ahead to restore Cavell's grave in the grounds of Norwich Cathedral after being awarded a £50,000 grant and was completed in 2016. and fourteen paintings by Brian Whelan were commissioned by Norwich Cathedral to commemorate Cavell's life and death. Norwich Cathedral held

8316-647: Was 49 at the time of her execution, was already notable as a pioneer of modern nursing in Belgium . Cavell was born on 4 December 1865 in Swardeston , a village near Norwich , where her father was vicar for 45 years. She was the eldest of the four children of the Reverend Frederick Cavell (1824–1910) and his wife Louisa Sophia Warming (1835–1918). Edith's siblings were Florence Mary (1867-1950), Mary Lilian (1870-1967) and John Frederick Scott (1872–1923). Cavell

8415-644: Was abolished by Finnish law in 1949 for crimes committed during peacetime, and in 1972 for all crimes. Finland is party to the Optional protocol of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights , forbidding the use of the death penalty in all circumstances. Pte. Thomas Highgate was the first British soldier to be convicted of desertion and executed by firing squad in September 1914 at Tournan-en-Brie during World War I. In October 1916 Pte. Harry Farr

8514-447: Was arrested, court-martialled under German military law and sentenced to death by firing squad . Despite international pressure for mercy, the German government refused to commute her sentence, and she was shot. The execution received worldwide condemnation and extensive press coverage. The night before her execution, she said, "Patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness towards anyone". These words were inscribed on

8613-808: Was awarded the Maidstone Typhoid Medal. After her training, Cavell worked from October 1898 to December 1899 as a private nurse employed by the Private Nursing Institution of the London Hospital, treating patients in their homes. Cavell travelled to tend patients with cancer, gout, pneumonia, pleurisy, eye issues and appendicitis. In 1901, Luckes recommended Cavell for the position of night superintendent of St Pancras Infirmary . In November 1903, she became assistant matron of St Leonard's Infirmary in Shoreditch . In 1906, Cavell took

8712-485: Was death. Paragraph 58 of the German Military Code determined that "In time of war, anyone who, with the intention of aiding a hostile power, or of causing harm to German or allied troops", commits any of the crimes defined in paragraph 90 of the German Penal Code "shall be punished with death for war treason". Specifically, Cavell was charged under paragraph 90 (1) no. 3 Reichsstrafgesetzbuch , for "conveying troops to

8811-675: Was educated at Norwich High School for Girls , then at boarding schools in Clevedon , Somerset, and Peterborough (Laurel Court). After a period as a governess, including for a family in Brussels from 1890 to 1895, Cavell returned home to care for her father during a serious illness. The experience led her to become a nurse after her father's recovery. Cavell worked as a nurse at the Fountain Fever Hospital in Tooting from December 1895. At

8910-456: Was forfeit if medical practices were seen to be used as cover for belligerent action. This forfeiture is expressed in article 7 of the 1906 version of the convention, which was the version in force at the time, and justified prosecution under German military law. The British government could therefore do nothing to help her. Sir Horace Rowland of the Foreign Office said, "I am afraid that it

9009-516: Was just. Standing as I do in view of God and Eternity, I realise that patriotism is not enough, I must have no hatred or bitterness towards anyone." These words are inscribed on her statues in London and in Melbourne, Australia. Cavell's final words to the German Lutheran prison chaplain, Paul Le Seur, were recorded as, "Ask Father Gahan to tell my loved ones later on that my soul, as I believe,

9108-431: Was most commonly used in various forms of British propaganda, such as postcards and newspaper illustrations during the war. Her story was presented in the British press as a means of fuelling a desire for revenge on the battlefield. These images implied that men must enlist in the armed forces immediately in order to stop forces that could arrange the judicial murder of an innocent British woman. Another representation of

9207-506: Was necessary. She was judged justly ... It is undoubtedly a terrible thing that the woman has been executed; but consider what would happen to a State, particularly in war, if it left crimes aimed at the safety of its armies to go unpunished because they were committed by women. From the perspective of the German government, had it released Cavell there might have been a surge in the number of women participating in acts against Germany because they knew they would not be severely punished. It took

9306-403: Was offered a position as matron in a Brussels clinic. She worked closely with Depage, who was part of a "growing body of people" in the medical profession in Belgium. He realised that the care that was being provided by the religious institutions had not been keeping up with medical advances. In 1910, Cavell was asked if she would be the matron for the new secular hospital at Saint-Gilles . When

9405-413: Was questioned in French, but her trial was minuted in German; which some assert gave the prosecutor the opportunity to misinterpret her answers. Although she may have been misrepresented, she made no attempt to defend herself, but responded to have channelled " environ deux cents " ("about two hundred") soldiers to the Dutch border. Cavell was provided with a defender approved by the German military governor;

9504-452: Was represented by defence lawyer Sadi Kirschen from Brussels. Of the twenty-seven defendants, five were condemned to death: Cavell, Baucq (an architect in his thirties), Louise Thuliez , Séverin and Countess Jeanne de Belleville. Of the five sentenced to death, only Cavell and Baucq were executed; the other three were granted reprieves. Cavell was arrested not for espionage, as many were led to believe, but for "war treason", despite not being

9603-448: Was shot for cowardice at Carnoy , which was later suspected to be acoustic shock . Highgate and Farr, along with 304 other British and Imperial troops who were executed for similar offenses, were listed at the Shot at Dawn Memorial which was erected to honor them. On 15 October 1917 Dutch exotic dancer Mata Hari was executed by a French firing squad at Château de Vincennes castle in

9702-400: Was tied to a tree and executed by Viking archers on 20 November 869 or 870. The method is often the capital punishment or disciplinary means employed by military courts for crimes such as cowardice , desertion , espionage , murder , mutiny , or treason . If the condemned prisoner is an ex-officer who is acknowledged to have shown bravery throughout their career, they may be afforded

9801-542: Was unveiled by Queen Alexandra on 17 March 1920. It received a Grade II listing in 1970, and was upgraded to a Grade I listing in 2014. Edith Cavell Edith Louisa Cavell ( / ˈ k æ v əl / KAV -əl ; 4 December 1865 – 12 October 1915) was a British nurse. She is celebrated for treating wounded soldiers from both sides without discrimination during the First World War and for helping some 200 Allied soldiers escape from German-occupied Belgium. Cavell

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