Knut Olivecrona and his ”Om dödsstraffet”. - Figuras

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ministry of justice contacted the Swedish ministry of justice for informations Olivecrona was appointed to maintain the Swedish contacts.1 Also concerning Norwegian and Finnish affairs it happened that questions were sent to Olivecrona.2 Possibly there is something suggestive of a man perceiving the national debate as lifeless and carrying the role of abolitionist relatively alone and challenged, when Olivecrona received a request of information on ”le mouvement de la question de l'abolition de la peine de mort en Suède et en Norvège”, his answer was mainly about legislation and the praxis of the courts. The resulting article presented the development in Sweden and Norway according to the writings of Olivecrona and with information received from him. A longer quotation from a letter of him was also included.3 Also when Olivecrona in 1879 wanted to inform Holtzendorff on the present situation of the penalty of death in Sweden he included his pronouncement on the applications for pardon by Gustaf Adolf Hjert and Konrad Tektor and an article in Aftonbladet about the Norwegian executions of 1876 – probably written by himself. 4 The rise of statistical methods and arguments made international contacts an increasingly important necessity among published abolitionists with scientific ambitions. Somewhere they must come from, the facts and figures. When Olivecrona came in touch with the abolitionistic network he also became a deliverer, as many other writers and correspondents. Back and forth information was sent, on debates in legislatures, on sentences, pardons and executions, on most aspects of the penalty of death. The first contribution of Olivecrona was probably Swedish figures on capital sentences and executions sent to Mittermaier circa 1863.5 The next year Olivecrona answering a request from Holtzendorff sent him the figures for 1862. 6 1 Letter from Léon Aucoc to Knut Olivecrona 10/4 1877 G 197 k 5, letter from Jean Duvergier to Knut Olivecrona 31/8 1877 G 197 k:7 UUB. Cf for another such semi-official mission, this time to inform internationally of new Swedish legislation concerning patents, letters from Knut Olivecrona to Alfred Lagerheim 17/6 and 22/6 1885 E 7126 RA. 2 See for example draft of letter from Knut Olivecrona to William Tallack 28/12 1880 (wrongly placed on 1886) och draft of letter from Knut Olivecrona to William Tallack 13/11 1889 G 197 k:19 UUB. 3 Letter from Knut Olivecrona to Jakob Karel Willem Quarles van Ufford 7/5 1878 Gp 47,16 UvA, draft in G 197 k:18 UUB, letter from Knut Olivecrona till Jakob Karel Willem Quarles van Ufford 6/7 1878 Gp 47,18 UvA. Olivecrona bifogade även 7/5 statistiska uppgifter om dödsstraffet i Norge, Ufford 1878. 4 Draft of letter from Knut Olivecrona to Franz von Holtzendorff 23/2 1879 G 197 k:18 UUB. 5 Draft of letter from Knut Olivecrona to Carl Joseph Anton Mittermaier undated with note [1863?] G 197 k:17 UUB. 6 Draft of letter from Knut Olivecrona to Franz von Holtzendorff 25/5 1864 G 197 k:17 UUB. 26
Besides from communicating information eventually ending up in scientific and abolitionistic publications, at this time often not distinguished between, there could be more popular approaches. One example is an action spread from one part of Europe to another in 1874. Lucas wrote to Olivecrona on the alarming situation in Italy. Through a proposed new penal code the penalty of death would be reinstated in Tuscany, where it was abolished. In the Italian press and in pamphlets abolitionists were conducting a campaign in which also letters from foreign abolitionists, among them Lucas, were published. It was, however, the opinion of Lucas that the struggle should not be confined to Italy. Thus he had addressed an appeal to the liberal forces of Europe to participate in the defence of Tuscan abolition. The appeal had been published in several French newspapers and he was hopeful that it also would be published in Belgium, the Netherlands, and England, and, possibly, Germany.1 Olivecrona contributed with an article in Nya Dagligt Allehanda with the Italian situation and a publication of Lucas as its subject.2 A common Italian penal code was not approved until 1889, coming into force 1/1 1890. In it the penalty of death was abolished for ordinary crimes. In an article in Tidsskrift for Retsvidenskab Olivecrona presented the new law and its prehistory.3 Parliamentary actions were another reason to send information. When the French chamber of deputies in 1881 decided to try the issue of abolition of the penalty of death Olivecrona sent Lucas a continuation of his earlier tables on those condemned to death and executions in Sweden, that he, if appropriate, could communicate to Louis Blanc, who had brought the subject forward.4 In the mid-1880’s Lucas contacted Olivecrona requesting information on the penalty of death and capital sentences particularly for Sweden, but also for Norway and Finland. Besides scientific use it would be employed in the preparation of a petition to the French senate to abolish, primarily, the public executions. 5 Lucas had earlier petitioned both for the abolition of the penalty of death, in 1830, and for the abolition of public execution, which he thought was a step on the road to total abolition, in 1867.6 Also Olivecrona saw intramural 1 Letters from Charles Lucas to Knut Olivecrona 21/4 and 12/5 1874 G 197 k:10 UUB. 2 Draft of letter from Knut Olivecrona to Charles Lucas 8/5 and 7/11 1874 G 197 k:17 UUB. The publication of Lucas was intituled De la peine de mort et du l'unification pénale. 3 Soresina 1986 p 97, Olivecrona 1890a. 4 Letter from Charles Lucas to Knut Olivecrona 16/2 1881 G 197 k:10 UUB and draft of letter from Knut Olivecrona to Charles Lucas 26/2 1881 G 197 k:18 UUB. 5 Letters from Charles Lucas to Knut Olivecrona 25/8 1884 and 27/1 1885 G 197 k:10 UUB, draft of letter from Knut Olivecrona to Charles Lucas 4/8 1884 and 4/2 1885 (wrongly dated ”den 4 Febr. 1884”) G 197 k:19 UUB, Lucas 1888. 6 Lucas 1867. 27
Page 1 and 2: The Swede in 19th century European
Page 3 and 4: Childhood and executions In 1867 Ol
Page 5 and 6: sciences sociales in Gent, thereby
Page 7 and 8: Knut Olivecrona had in Rosalie a sp
Page 9 and 10: presented at L'Institut Impérial.
Page 11 and 12: inspector of French prisons and fou
Page 13 and 14: ich due to a systematic collection
Page 15 and 16: tendencies are clearly of great imp
Page 17 and 18: law committee while the view of the
Page 19 and 20: penalty of death as the society mur
Page 21 and 22: ägnas denna skrift vördsamt av f
Page 23 and 24: Budapest also a statistical congres
Page 25: willing to be at hand when further
Page 29 and 30: Christian Naumann, prison officials
Page 31 and 32: aised, not without some success. In
Page 33 and 34: necessary to preserve society and i
Page 35 and 36: Unsucessfully raising his voice in
Page 37 and 38: somewhere in between? Interesting i
Page 39 and 40: penal code gave the courts less lee
Page 41 and 42: wrote a preface.1 The action of Ros
Page 43 and 44: death.1 It’s an irony of history
Page 45 and 46: exceptional circumstances of the cr
Page 47 and 48: A few days later Olivecrona and Osc
Page 49 and 50: Those feelings, however, were not p
Page 51 and 52: moratoriums were appreciated roads
Page 53 and 54: An ideal of development, of a brigh
Page 55 and 56: HEIDELBERG Universitätsbibliothek
Page 57 and 58: 1988 Une prison verte dans les mara
Page 59 and 60: 1987-89 Naumann, Christian i: Svens
Page 61 and 62: 1868b Om förbättringsanstalten i
Page 63 and 64: Rodhe, Edvard 1926 Förbindelser me

Knut Olivecrona and his ”Om dödsstraffet”. - Figuras

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