Manuscript on a murderer and "denier of God" executed in 1766

The text of a public speech by Amsterdam prosecutor Isaac Sweers, held on 10 January 1766, and directed at the murderer Johan Humbert (also known as Jean Hubain), who would be executed by the wheel the following day.

Jean Hubain, apparently from France, had slit the throat of Godfried Willeke and his maid on 16 September 1765. Willeke owned a beer hall in the Barndesteeg, and Hubain, along with his accomplice Pierre la Plaine, had robbed him after they killed him. La Plaine managed to escape, but Hubain was arrested and subsequently sentenced to death.

After his incarceration, the Amsterdam minister Adriaan Buurt was asked to provide him with spiritual assistance and help him prepare for his impending death. Interestingly, in 1781 Buurt published a brief account of his conversations with Humbert.

From that it follows that Humbert, influenced by philosophy, denied the existence of sin, an afterlife, divine retribution and intervention, and the immortality of the soul.

Before his execution, he attempted suicide by slitting a vein with a broken glass but was saved by the guards. On 11 January 1766, he was finally executed by the wheel.

The day before his execution, prosecutor Isaac Sweers delivered a public speech in the courtyard of the Amsterdam city hall, addressing Humbert. This speech apparently made a significant impression in Amsterdam and is quoted in the famous diary of Jacob Bicker Raye (1703-1777), who witnessed the execution.

Bicker Raye described Humbert as a "most dreadful man, that Jean Hubain, a denier of God, not believing in Heaven, Hell, resurrection, or God's judgement, but considering death as the end of everything" ("Een aldergruwelijkste mens, die Jean Hubain, een Godtverzaaker en niet geloovende aan Heemel, Hell noch opstandiging of oordeel Gods, maar stellende dood, alles dood").

The present manuscript contains the text of Sweers's speech, though with slightly different wording. In it, he urges Humbert to spend his final hours saving his soul, especially since he had "mocked God and religion" ("godt lasterlijk te spotten so met godt als godts Dienst") and refused to allow anyone to pray for him.

It is possible that several versions of the text of this speech circulated in Amsterdam in 1766. In any case, this is a rare survival.