 Furthermore, the observations of Dr. Beaurieux, who witnessed the decapitation of a convict named Languille in 1905, may imply that the severed head also briefly retained the sense of sight.The French observed a strict code of etiquette surrounding such executions.For example, a man named Legros, one of the assistants at the execution of Charlotte Corday, was imprisoned for three months and dismissed for slapping the face of the victim after the blade had fallen in order to see whether any flicker of life remained.