Cayetano Ripoll (allegedly from Solsona 1778 - Valencia 1826), was a schoolmaster in Valencia, Spain, who was hanged to death on 26 July 1826 for allegedly teaching Deist principles.[1] [2] Ripoll was a soldier in the Spanish army during the Peninsular War (1807-1814). He was captured by French forces and was a prisoner of war. While being held by the French he was taken to France and there he became aware of Deism. He soon became a Deist. [3] Upon returning to Spain, he used his position as a school master to teach others about Deism. He was accused by the Spanish inquisition (1478-1834) of being a Deist and of teaching his students about Deism. He was arrested for heresy and held in jail for close to two years. The clergymen of the Spanish Inquisition demanded Ripoll be burned at the stake for his heresy, however, the civil authorities chose to hang him instead. Allegedly, the church authorities, upset that Ripoll had not been burned at the stake, placed his dead body into a barrel, painted flames on the barrel and buried it in unconsecrated ground. Other reports state that the church authorities placed his body into a barrel and burned the barrel, throwing the ashes into a river [3] Ripoll has the dubious honor of being the last of the many people known to have been executed for having committed the act of heresy, under sentence from a 'Church authority,' specifically the Spanish Inquisition. His last words were, "I die reconciled to God and to man." [4] [5]