different realities and reactions were, however, not to be used in reality, and had not been used since around 1760.494 Already in 1724 an edict had complained about the murders of children. It had, however, neither been specific about the motives of the perpetrators nor made any changes in for example penalties.495 The senate of the city June 25th 1784 decided to forbid clerical presence at the executions.496 The legislation was contrived in a situation where the problem of murders in order to be executed was quite common and as a direct result of such a case. The ministry of the city then thought it would be natural if no part of the preparation, including the communion, would be public. The ministry, however, was divided in its opinions concerning the problems, something two of its members soon came to discuss in print.497 The times were however to change also in Hamburg. When the city in 1854 introduced intramural executions, those allowed to be present were a total of seven judges and officials, the defence attorney, three adult male relatives of the condemned, a necessary number of police and those priests that had prepared the condemned.498 And when the city executed Wilhelm Timm on April 10th 1856 it was the first execution since 1822 and a priest was present.499 The many years without execution, according to Jürgen Martschukat, were primarily the result of a horror of the guillotine, which brought to mind the French occupation, and the troubles at other beheadings in the city. Thereby Hamburg had no suitable meth494 Sammlung 1783 p 245 sq, Martschukat 2000a p 84 sqq, Stuart 2023 p 187 sq. 495 Stuart 2023 p 173 sqq. 496 Extract from the records of the senate 25 June 1784 Band 18 1784IIIBMinisteriumStaHH; see also Gade 1956 p 108, Martschukat 2000a p 89, and also Stuart 2023 p 115, 141, 190 sq who sees the legislation as the desacralisation of the executions. 497 Letter from the ministry to the senate 5 July 1784 vol 4b Senatsakte Cl. VII Lit. Mbnr 3 StaHH. Concerning the ministry as a body and its position in the ecclesiastical government of Hamburg see Bergemann 1958 p 265 sqq. 498 Verordnung über die Vollziehung von Todesstrafen 1854 §§ 3 and 4. 499 A reverend Cropp was present, Hinrichtung s a, Martschukat 2000a p 171, 233. See also Martschukat 2001 p22 sqq. When Johann Ludwig August Parent was executed 13 December 1860, he was accompanied to the scaffolds by the priests Sommer and Schevening that had spent the night praying with him, Wosnik 1926 p 111 sq, see also p 49. As the executions had become rarer the murders in order to seek executions in Hamburg also had become rarer, Stuart 2023 p 34. 142
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