Jean Mailhe

Jean-Baptiste Mailhe, born Jean Mailhe (8 April 1752 – 1 June 1834), was a French politician of the French Revolution. A lawyer by training, he was a deputy to the Legislative Assembly and the National Convention, where he played a key role in the Trial of Louis XVI. His motion to sentence the king to death while allowing for a potential reprieve, known as the "Mailhe amendment", revealed emerging divisions among the deputies during the trial. He was later elected to the Council of Five Hundred and was proscribed under the Directory after the Coup of 18 Fructidor, before returning to France following the Coup of 18 Brumaire.

Life Early life and career Born into a bourgeois family in Guizerix (in the former province of Bigorre), Jean Mailhe studied law at the University of Toulouse and became a lawyer (avocat) at the parlement of Toulouse.

Between 1777 and 1784, Mailhe was active in the Académie des Jeux floraux, a prestigious literary society in Toulouse, where he associated with Bertrand Barère and received four awards for his work.

Legislative Assembly In September 1791, Mailhe, then procureur-syndic for the department of Haute-Garonne, was elected as a deputy to the National Legislative Assembly, the second of twelve for his department. In April 1792, he voted to grant honours to the soldiers of the Châteauvieux regiment, who had been involved in the Nancy affair.

National Convention Following the insurrection of 10 August 1792, the monarchy was overthrown, and new elections were held. In September 1792, Mailhe was re-elected to the newly formed National Convention as the first of twelve deputies for Haute-Garonne. This report laid the legal groundwork for the Trial of Louis XVI.

During the votes on the king's sentence in January 1793, Mailhe cast his vote with the significant amendment: "Death. I ask that, if this opinion passes, the Assembly discuss whether it would be in the public interest for the execution to take place immediately or to be postponed". His "Mailhe amendment" was seen by the Montagnards as a veiled attempt to save the king. The next day, he was dispatched to the departments of Aude and Haute-Garonne to accelerate the mass conscription.

He was absent for the votes on the indictment of Jean-Paul Marat and the reinstatement of the Commission of Twelve. Réquisitoire fait par M. Mailhe, procureur-général-syndic du département de la Haute-Garonne, le 2 octobre 1790, devant messieurs les administrateurs composant le directoire de ce département (1790). Instruction de M. Mailhe, procureur-général-syndic, aux citoyens du Département de Haute-Garonne, relativement aux assemblées primaires (1790). Discours prononcé sur l'autel de la patrie, par M. Mailhe avec le serment civique, & les adresses à l'Assemblée nationale & au Roi (1790). Adresse de monsieur le procureur-général-syndic à messieurs les curés, vicaires, desservans, & au bon peuple du département de Haute-Garonne, sur la constitution du Clergé (1790). Rapport sur les clubs et sociétés populaires, fait à la Convention nationale, au nom des Comités de Salut public, de Sûreté générale & de Législation, par Mailhe, député du département de la Haute-Garonne, dans la séance du 6 fructidor, an 3 (1795).