Following nearly 100 years of abolitionist efforts for reform, Article 102 of the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany marked the constitutional end of legal capital punishment. What were the reasons behind this surprising decision taken by lawmakers to ban this ultimate punishment, particularly considering the fact that ruling public opinion of the time looked favorably on the death penalty? What effects did this constitutional ban have on the population, which rejected this ruling? In particular, this work examines the formation of parliamentary and public opinion in the period from 1949 to 1990, including the question of a renewed use of the death penalty.