There are four of them. Four photographs that could symbolize the abolition of the death penalty in France. They bring together, in a never-before-seen sequence, the guillotine and the man who consigned it to history on October 9, 1981. This is the first time they have been published. For nearly 44 years, they sat in a wooden drawer, unseen.

The creator of these secret snapshots is François Binet. In the early 1970s, he was an associate at the law firm of Robert Badinter and Jean-Denis Bredin. Later, he walked the halls of criminal courts with Badinter to save six men from the guillotine, between 1977 and 1980. Binet handled the case files, trial preparation and the behind-the-scenes work. Badinter delivered the impassioned arguments and waged the public battle for abolition. Their friendship was forged in those heated moments of court battles, marked by the sometimes fierce hostility from a public that remained, for the most part, in favor of the death penalty.

Today, Binet is 79 years old. The lawyer's frame is rounder and more stooped now, but his passion is undimmed when he recalls the years he spent fighting alongside his mentor, "a second father." He welcomes visitors to his suburban Paris apartment, decorated with Greek goddess sculptures and illustrations by Alphonse Mucha. "It's time to publish them," he said, gazing at his photos. "People need to know the gravity of that visit to the guillotine and the horror it represented. The pantheonization of Robert Badinter is the right moment." There was an unspoken agreement between the two men: The photos were to remain confidential. But now, with the approval of Elisabeth Badinter, Robert's widow, Binet has agreed to release them "for free, for history!" and recount the story of that secret encounter between Robert Badinter and the guillotine.

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