Trial and execution of José Rizal

After waiting in a dungeon cell in Fort Santiago in the late months of 1896, José Rizal's trial started. On December 3, he was charged with forming a secret society; being responsible for the existing rebellion; and treason. Rizal was sentenced to death on December 26. On December 30, José Rizal was executed on Bagumbayan Field—currently Rizal Park—by shooting. Rizal released his novels Noli Me Tángere and El filibusterismo in 1887 and 1891. Due to these novels being portrayed as anti-Spanish, he was exiled to Dapitan. Unbeknownst to him, his name was used in the Katipunan. He had decided to travel to Europe in July 1896 after four years of exile in Dapitan. He left the Philippines on September 2.

Once he arrived in Barcelona, he was arrested and sent back to the Philippines. People requested a writ of habeas corpus when he was in Singapore to let Rizal walk free. The writ was denied and Rizal continued back to the Philippines. José Rizal's trial started in the late months of 1896; Rizal had to pick from a list of young soldiers to defend him. He picked Luis Taviel de Andrade. Rizal was charged with three offenses and was sentenced to death. In his last 24 hours, he was described as calm. On December 29, during a meeting between Katipunan groups, Paciano told the groups about Rizal's execution. Emilio Aguinaldo and Andrés Bonifacio had already made a plan to rescue Rizal that Paciano rejected. On December 30, soldiers prepared Rizal for execution. A soldier described his heartbeat as normal. Rizal was shot by the soldiers and killed. The town celebrated his execution after. A wagon carried him to Paco Cemetery, where he was buried in an unmarked grave.