STOCKHOLM: A Swedish court has commuted the life sentence of a 94-year-old twice-convicted murderer, opening the possibility that he could spend his final days outside.
Born in 1928, Helmer Ludges has repeatedly run afoul of the law during his nearly century-long career.
Convicted of his first crime at 19, it wasn’t until he was 60 that he committed his first murder, killing a friend with an ax and throwing acid on another man “for snoring”. Juridik on Monday.
Sentenced to 11 years in prison, he was released in the mid-90s but soon faced another charge of murder, which he denied.
He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison at the age of 71 for murdering his immobile neighbor, making him the oldest person in modern Swedish history to receive a life sentence, the outlet said. Became a person.
The Orebro District Court said in the judgment that it saw AFPIn view of his deteriorating health, Lajas’ life sentence should be commuted to 39 years in prison.
Having already served 24 years, that means Ljus will be eligible for parole in two years.
The court noted that the prosecution did not oppose commutation of the sentence, but requested that the sentence be suspended to allow the Prison Service to plan his release and “facilitate his transition to a life of freedom.” was.”
The Swedish National Board of Forensic Medicine also said Loos’s risk of committing further crimes was low, noting that his dementia meant “he was a different person than before”.
Barring an appeal, the decision will be final on March 31.
Public broadcaster SVT reported that since 2009 — the first time he was eligible to apply — Ljus has repeatedly sought to have his sentence commuted to a suspended sentence, citing his poor health.
According to the prisoners’ rights group Penal Reform International (PRI), although there are no global statistics on the elderly in prisons, the proportion of elderly prisoners is increasing in many countries.
The PRI also noted that people aged 50 or 55 in prison are increasingly being designated as ‘old’ – compared to 60 or 65 in the community at large – due to “rapid aging in prison”. “