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Updated: June 3, 2025
A French journal announces that the son and daughter of Lesurques, still living, pledged themselves on the death-bed of their mother to continue the endeavour which had occupied her forty long years an endeavour to make the law comprehend that nothing is more tyrannous than the strict fulfilment of its letter an endeavour to make the world at large more keenly feel the questionable nature of evidence as to personal identity in cases where the witnesses are ignorant, and where the evidence against their testimony is presumptive.
The message of the Directory to the Five Hundred was pressing; its aim was to demand a reprieve, and a decision as to what course to pursue. It ended thus: "Must Lesurques perish on the scaffold because he resembles a villain?"
When Jerome Lesurques is forced to suspect his son of crime, he has a line: "Am I mad, or dreaming? Would I were." Mead one night gave a less poetic reading: "Am I mad or drunk? Would I were!" It will be remembered by those who saw the play that Lesurques, an innocent man, will not commit the Roman suicide of honor at his father's bidding, and refuses to take up his pistol from the table.
Legrand then, trembling and terrified, retracted his former deposition, and declared that he was not certain he had seen Lesurques on the 8th Floreal, but that he had altered his book in order to give more probability to the declaration he had determined to make in his friend's favour of whose innocence he was so assured, that it was only the conviction that he was accused erroneously, which made him perjure himself to save that innocent head.
Few sessions have passed without some members, particularly from the department du Nord, calling attention to the subject. All that has been obtained is a restitution of part of the property seized by the fisc at the period of the execution. Madame Lesurques has died unsuccessful, because a judicial error cannot be acknowledged or rectified, owing to the insufficiency of the Code.
Lesurques, despairing to get over such fatal appearances, ceased his energetic denials, and awaited his sentence in gloomy silence. The jury retired. At this moment a woman, agitated with the most violent emotions, demanded to speak to the President. She said that she was moved by the voice of conscience, and wished to save the criminal tribunal from a dreadful error.
The crowd retired with a general conviction that Lesurques had perished guiltless; and several of the judges were seriously troubled by the doubts which this day had raised in their minds. Many of the jury began to repent having relied so on the affirmations of the witnesses from Mongeron and Lieursaint, precise as they had been.
The right of pardon had been abolished; and Lesurques had neither resources nor hope. He bore his fate with firmness and resignation, and wrote, on the day of his execution, this note to his wife: "Ma bonne Amie, There is no eluding ones destiny, I was fated to be judicially murdered. I shall at least bear it with proper courage.
He exhibited profound repentance, and demanded the succours of religion. To his confessor he left this declaration "I assert that Lesurques is innocent; but this must only be made public six months after my death."
Should you ever be brought to justice, remember my three children covered with opprobrium remember my wife reduced to despair and do not longer prolong their misfortunes." The 10th March 1797, Lesurques was led to the scaffold. He wished to be dressed completely in white, as a symbol of his innocence.
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