The death penalty in Sweden

In 1800-1866, 644 executions were carried out in Sweden, which put it in second place after Spain ^{[1] [2]} . In 1864, after the reform of the criminal code, the use of the death penalty was severely limited (it was proposed to abolish it), and hanging was canceled. From 1866 until the abolition of the death penalty in 1921, fifteen people were executed (out of 120 sentenced). Only one crime after 1864 entailed the mandatory use of the death penalty - the killing of a prison guard by a prisoner serving a life sentence. A death penalty was also imposed for a similar crime - in 1866 Jonas Magnus Borg was executed, and in 1872 Karl Otto Anderson.

Two names were used for the executioners: Skarprättare , who carried out beheadings , and Bödel , who carried out hangings by the neck and other types of death penalty. Until the beginning of the 19th century, hangings were used for people of noble birth, and decapitation - for nobles. In the 19th century, every province in Sweden and the capital had its own executioner, who traveled around the area to carry out executions. In 1900, the position of state executioner ( riksskarprättare ) was established, which was occupied by Albert Gustav Dalman, taking responsibility for the execution of all executions in Sweden.

The last hanging took place in 1836, this method of execution remained legal until the entry into force of the criminal code of 1864, which excluded this method. After this, the only type of death penalty in Sweden was decapitation, first with an ax, and since 1906 - with a guillotine.

The last person executed in Sweden was Joan Alfred Ander , who was sentenced to death for robbery, associated with murder and committed in January 1910. His sentence was not commuted and Ander was executed on November 23 in the Stockholm prison Langholmen using the guillotine (This was the only case of using the guillotine in Sweden ) The role of the executioner was made by Albert Gustav Dalman. Dalman died in 1920 at the age of 72. It is believed that the problems with finding a new executioner became one of the reasons for the abolition of the death penalty, which followed a year later.

Anarcho-communist and worker activist (unemployed at that time) Anton Nilson was sentenced to death (and two of his comrades to life imprisonment) for blowing up bombs in a ship in 1908 on which English strikebreakers employed by the employer during a strike of Malmö docked (one of them died). However, an extensive international campaign unfolded, and before the execution Nilson was pardoned and sent to serve a life sentence in a labor camp. Finally, in October 1917 , Anton Nilson and his comrades were released by the first decision of the new coalition government of liberals and social democrats .

On May 28, 1920, a monarchist, a member of the White Movement, Magomed-beck Hadzhetlash, was sentenced to death for robbery and murder of three Russian citizens who allegedly sympathized with the Bolsheviks in the so-called Russian Villa ( Ryssvillan ) in 1919. It was announced that this is a terrible and carefully planned crime. Four potential victims were also reported missing on the same day. This was the last death sentence in Sweden. Hadzhetlash accomplices received milder sentences. Following the appeal, the death penalty (still in effect at that time) was changed by the Svealand Court of Appeal to life imprisonment. Khadzhetlache allegedly fell ill with a mental illness in custody and died in Langholmen prison in 1929 ^[3] .

The last woman sentenced to death was Hilda Nielsen, sentenced to guillotine on July 14, 1917 for the murder of several children. She did not expect to be executed and hanged herself in the cell of the Landskrona fortress. It was assumed that they wanted to mitigate her sentence, but she did not know about this at the time of suicide.

The last woman executed was Anna Mansdottir. She was beheaded on August 7, 1890 with an ax. She and her son Per Nielsen killed Nielsen's wife Hannah Jonasdottir. Anna also entered into sexual relations with her son. Per Nielsen was sentenced to life imprisonment and released in 1914. The last woman executed in Stockholm was Helen Katharina Loew, beheaded for infanticide on September 19, 1829.

The last public execution in Sweden took place on May 18, 1876. At 7 a.m. at Stenhulm Bake near Visby and at Lidamon near Malmköping Conrad Lunquist Peterson Tector and Gustav Erickson Hjert were sentenced to death for the same crime - a failed robbery of a stagecoach committed two years earlier, which led to the death of one of passengers and coach coach. Executions were carried out by Per Peter Christiansen Steinek and Johan Fredrik Hoyurt ^[4] .

On August 10, 1853, the last execution, carried out not for murder, took place. Martin Pehrson was executed for aggravated assault near Röhla (near Ystad ) ^[5] . The last execution for a non-murder attack was carried out on March 29, 1837 in Stockholm, when Anders Gustav Lindberg was beheaded.

On June 3 ^[6] , 1921 the death penalty was abolished for all crimes committed in peacetime, and on January 1, 1973 - for all crimes committed during the war.

An article of the Constitution adopted in 1975 prohibits the death penalty. Sweden is a party to the second protocol of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ratified in 1990 ^[7] ), the sixth (1984) and thirteenth (2003) protocols of the European Convention on Human Rights ^[8] .

In the state Riksdag, most peasants advocated the abolition of the death penalty, in particular when discussing the new criminal code of 1864 ^[9] .

About 30-40% of Swedes support the death penalty. According to a 2006 SIFO survey, 36% of the population believe that certain types of crimes should be capital punished. Mostly the death penalty is supported by young men, but in general no age group in the majority shows support for the death penalty ^{[10] [11]} .

• “Sveriges Siste Skarprättare AG Dalman - Föregångare och Förrättningar” i Skandinaviska Pressförlaget, Stockholm, 1934
• Hanns v. Brott och straff i Sverige: Historisk kriminalstatistik 1750-1984 Sthlm 1985 (SCB).