prepare("SELECT id FROM papers WHERE id = ?"); $stmt->execute([$paper_id]); if ($stmt->rowCount() === 0) { // Paper not found, maybe already deleted header("Location: index.php?error=notfound"); exit; } // Delete the paper try { $stmt = $pdo->prepare("DELETE FROM papers WHERE id = ?"); $stmt->execute([$paper_id]); header("Location: index.php?success=deleted"); exit; } catch (PDOException $e) { // Log error if you have a logging system header("Location: index.php?error=deletfailed"); exit; }