Historical eventSeptember 271975

Last use of capital punishment in Spain

The last use of capital punishment in Spain sparks worldwide protests.

Everything on September 27Original source

In context

When
Saturday, September 27 197551 years ago
Category
Historical eventA dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Era
20th century · 1970s
Recorded from
Wikipedia “On this day” feed

At a glance

Dates: From 1975-09-27.

Place: Barcelona, Francoist Spain.

Type: execution by firing squad.

Deaths reported: 5.

What came before

Part of: White Terror (Spain) and Second Francoism.

Background Franco had come to power in 1939 after the Spanish Civil War , during which various factions had committed mass executions of political opponents. Numerous historians, including Helen Graham, [ 1 ] Paul Preston , [ 2 ] Antony Beevor , [ 3 ] Gabriel Jackson, [ 4 ] Hugh Thomas, and Ian Gibson [ 5 ] believe that the summary executions of political opponents by the Francoist side, which became known as the "White Terror" , was a deliberate policy. In contrast,

What happened

The last use of capital punishment in Spain took place on 27 September 1975 when two members of the armed left-wing Basque nationalist and separatist group ETA political-military and three members of the Spanish anti-Francoist Marxist–Leninist group Revolutionary Antifascist Patriotic Front (FRAP) were executed by firing squads after having been convicted and sentenced to death by military tribunals for the murder of police officers and civil guards.

September 27 through the years

Other entries on the same calendar day, in order.

  1. 1975Last use of capital punishment in Spain
  2. 2001Zug massacre
  3. 2003SMART-1
  4. 2007Dawn (spacecraft)
  5. 2008Zhai Zhigang
  6. 2012Minneapolis firm shooting
  7. 2014Mount Ontake
  8. 20142014 Mount Ontake eruption
  9. 2019September 2019 climate strikes
  10. 2020Second Nagorno-Karabakh War
  11. 2024Hurricane Helene

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Everything we record for 1975 →

Sources

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“Last use of capital punishment in Spain”, What's On This Date, https://whatsonthisdate.com/app/event/last-use-of-capital-punishment-in-spain-1975-september-27, accessed October 29, 2026.

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Questions about this entry

When did Last use of capital punishment in Spain happen?

September 27 1975 — 51 years ago, on a Saturday.

Where does this text come from?

Wikipedia “On this day” feed. Summaries are short adaptations that link back to the source, not reprints.

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