Books
La muerte del verdugo. Reflexiones interdisciplinarias sobre el cadáver de los criminales de masa
The last decade witnessed the death of a number of notable war criminals, perpetrators of genocide, dictators and terrorists, amongst these Slobodan Milosevic, Augusto Pinochet, Saddam Hussein, Osama Ben Laden and Muammar Gaddafi. Though the circumstance of each death may differ greatly, the questions each death raises are the same: when and how did these criminals die? What should one do with their remains? How does one apprehend their legacy, the memory of their persona and their crimes?
Despite being of a timely and crucial nature, these questions have prompted little attention in the field of legal and social sciences to date. While there is a renewed interest in the perpetrator’s discourse as a source of information, studies that refer to his fate once he is dead are rare. This work intends to fill this gap.
The interdisciplinary reflection undertaken here puts in dialogue the contributions of law, history, anthropology, sociology, literature and psychology, focusing on three main themes: the death of the perpetrator, the post-mortem treatment of his body, and the question of patrimonialization, faced with the demands of justice and reparation. This volume intends to shed light on the issues surrounding the end of mass criminals – a death never banal, even when it is natural.
La muerte del verdugo. Reflexiones interdisciplinarias sobre el cadáver de los criminales de masa is edited by Professor Sévane Garibian with a preface by Juan Ernesto Méndez. This collection of essays has also been published in French under the name of La mort du bourreau. Réflexions interdisciplinaires sur le cadavre des criminels de masse with a preface by Antoine Garapon.
A link to an interview with Professor Sévane Garibian on the theme and on the contributions of the book is available here in spanish and french.
You can also read additional press information here.