Murder in Swedish law

For a general discussion of the law of murder, see murder.

In Sweden, the following degrees of murder apply:

• First degree murder (Mord) is defined as a planned taking a life of another, and punishable with imprisonment between 10 and 18 years or life imprisonment. (3-1 § of the Penal Code)
• Second degree murder (Dråp) is defined as murder when it is less severe, either due to the circumstances or the crime itself and is not premeditated but intentional, and is punishable with a fixed prison term between 6 and 10 years. (3-2 §)
• In further mitigating sircumstances the punishment may be less than 6 years imprisonment
• Sircumstances for second degree murder in sweden: Someone who with intention but without premeditiation kills someone, An example of this is when a fight break out and one person ends up dead
• Other sircumstances is when someone who has harassed or provoked the offender however there is no "Heat of passion" kills that person who harassed or provoked him or her
• Infanticide (Barnadråp) is murder committed by a mother on her child "when, owing to her confinement, she is in a disturbed mental state or in grave distress", punishable with any prison term up to 6 years. (3-3 §)
• Manslaughter (Vållande till annans död, literally causing another's death) is murder committed due to carelessness or someone who is in a heat of passion kills another and there is
• No time to cool off. For Manslaughter, there are three types of punishments:
  1. A fine (day-fines) if the crime is petty,
  2. Any prison term up to 2 years, or
  3. Any prison term between 1 year and 6 years if the crime is gross (Aggravating sircumstances) or gross negligence. Gross negligence is distinguished by "the taking of a considerable risk leading to the death, or driving a motor vehicle under influence leading to the death". (3-7 §)

Any person under 21 (but not under the age of 15) is sentenced as a ratio of what an adult would receive. For the purposes of this equation a life sentence equals 16 years. The ratio, based on age, starting at 15 going to 20 is; 1/5, 1/4, 1/3, 1/2, 2/3, 3/4. This results in a maximum penalty of, in years, 4, 5, 7, 10, 12, 14 (arbitrarily limited). Furthermore, people under 15 may be convicted of crimes, but not subject to legal punishment.

See also

• List of murder laws by country