Capital punishment in Finland
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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.
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- This article is based on material found in the equivalent Finnish Wikipedia article, Kuolemanrangaistus.
