The 2020 amendment to the law aimed to toughen the punishment for murder. It seems to have had an effect - the proportion of people convicted of completed murder over the age of 21 who have received life sentences has increased from just over a fifth to over half (53 percent).
Of those convicted of murder between the ages of 18 and 20, 63 percent, more than six out of ten, received life sentences. Previously, it was not possible to sentence such young people to life.
"The change is very clear for both partner murder and murder in a criminal environment, where nearly seven out of ten have been sentenced to life imprisonment after the change in the law," comments Klara Hradilova Selin, investigator at Brå, in a press release.
Brå's review is based on judgments during the period 2016-2023.
