Capital punishment in Finland

Capital punishment in Finland

Capital punishment in Finland (Finnish: "Kuolemanrangaistus") has been abolished "de jure".

From 1823 in the Grand Duchy of Finland, death sentences were commuted to banishments to Siberia or life sentences. In independent Finland, capital punishment for crimes committed in peacetime was abolished by law in 1949, and in 1972 it was abolished entirely. In addition, the current Constitution of Finland, adopted in 2000, specifically prohibits capital punishment.

The last person to be executed in peacetime was Tahvo Putkonen, on July 8, 1825.

Death sentences were frequently handed down during the Finnish Civil War of 1918.

During the Winter War and Continuation War, approximately 550 death sentences were carried out. Ninety percent of these were spies and saboteurs. The officer's right to execute soldiers refusing to obey commands or fleeing from combat was exercised only a few times. The most famous case is the execution of conscientious objector Arndt Pekurinen in autumn 1941, who was also the last Finn ever to be executed for civilian crimes (conscientious objection during wartime was considered high treason). He was sentenced to death without trial.

In the 19th century and before, as in the other Nordic countries, beheading by axe was the most common method of execution. In the 20th century, firing squads were used.

: "This article is based on material found in the equivalent Finnish Wikipedia article, Kuolemanrangaistus."


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Capital punishment in Romania — was abolished in 1989, and has been prohibited by the Constitution of Romania since 1991. Contents 1 Antecedents 2 Kingdom of Romania 3 Communist Romania 4 Romania …   Wikipedia

  • Capital Punishment (Death Penalty) —     Capital Punishment     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► Capital Punishment     The infliction by due legal process of the penalty of death as a punishment for crime.     The Latins use the word capitalis (from caput, head) to describe that which… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Capital punishment in the United Kingdom — Part of a series on Capital punishment Issues Debate · …   Wikipedia

  • Capital punishment in Belarus — Part of a series on Capital punishment Issues Debate · …   Wikipedia

  • Capital punishment in Germany — Part of a series on Capital punishment Issues Debate · …   Wikipedia

  • Capital punishment in France — Part of a series on Capital punishment Issues Debate · …   Wikipedia

  • Capital punishment in Switzerland — Part of a series on Capital punishment Issues Debate · …   Wikipedia

  • Use of capital punishment by country — The following is a summary of the use of capital punishment by country. Contents 1 Capital Punishment In The World 2 Africa 3 The Americas 4 Asia Pacific …   Wikipedia

  • Outline of Finland — The …   Wikipedia

  • Crime in Finland — This article provides an overview of crime in Finland. Contents 1 Statistics 2 Manslaughter, murder, homicide 3 Guns 4 Assaults and rapes …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”