- Sweden differs from almost all other countries when it comes to how people with more severe mental retardation are judged.
- In this week’s episode of Caliber in P1, the case of “Sofie” who was charged with assault and arson at her group home is taken up.
- Minister of Justice Morgan Johanson writes in an email to Kaliber that he currently sees no reason to change the Swedish system.
People with more severe mental retardation are regularly convicted of crimes in Sweden – unlike almost all other countries.
Caliber in P1 tells today about “Sofie” who is actually called something else, and who is judged to be on a six- to seven-year-old’s mental level and who was charged with assault and arson at her group home.
– When she crawled down and sat down under the table, it became quiet in the courtroom, because I think it was only then that they really understand, says Jenny Fugleberg, “Sofies” lawyer.
“Sofie” is an adult, but has autism and a moderate mental retardation, and is judged to be at a six- to seven-year-old mental level. Caliber has reviewed judgments from the past five years and found 15 people with moderate mental retardation who have been convicted in court for crimes and another person with severe developmental disabilities. Some of the 16 have been sentenced to penalties without lock-in, such as probation or a suspended sentence. Most, nine of them, were sentenced to forensic psychiatric care.
– There is something here in our legal system that rubs off a bit because these are people who so obviously work at the child level. And we have legislation that also says that when it comes to children, those people must not be sentenced to any punishment, any punishment, says Hanna Edberg who is chief physician in North Stockholm’s psychiatry and researches in the field.
Justice Minister Morgan Johanson responds to the criticism in an email to Kaliber, that he currently sees no reason to change the Swedish system, as there is room to adapt the sanction and in certain situations not impose a sanction at all. He writes that one should not exaggerate the difference between our system and the systems that have a concept of accountability.
Source: ICELAND NEWS