AUGUSTA – In a radio interview expressing his support for the death penalty, Maine Gov. Paul LePage said with a laugh that he wants to use the guillotine to execute drug traffickers.

The governor’s office said Tuesday the remark on WVOM was just a joke to illustrate his support for tougher penalties for drug crimes.

The governor’s remarks about executing drug traffickers starts at 12 minutes, 12 seconds.

During the interview, LePage laughed when he talked about using the guillotine to chop off the heads of drug dealers at public executions.

“I think what we ought to do is bring the guillotine back,” he said.

LePage in the past has voiced his support for the death penalty for drug dealers. The Legislature, however, has a long history of rejecting capital punishment, which was abolished in 1887 in response to a botched hanging.

The full interview can be heard here, with the governor’s remarks on executing drug traffickers starting at 12 minutes, 12 seconds.

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