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When the solution is the problem. The political debate on theft and civil death in Sweden in the late 1800s.
Thu, September 4, 9:30 to 10:45am, Communications Building (CN), CN 2110Abstract
Swedish criminal law was thoroughly modernized during the 19th century. Punishments of shame, corporal punishments and death penalties were abolished in favour of imprisonment and fines as default penalties. The fact that, in accordance with the 1864 Penal Code, one could still be sentenced to “loss of civic trust” after serving a sentence appeared therefore to be an anomaly. This punishment, dating back to the Middle Ages, prevented, among other things, the released prisoner from voting, entering into contracts or testifying. As a punishment on top of a punishment, it also greatly hindered the former prisoner’s ability to support himself, as employers often demanded to see a certificate that the job seeker had not been sentenced to loss of civic trust.
It was above all this latter aspect that stirred up and contributed to a lively discussion about abolishing or at least significantly mitigating this variant of “civil death”. As an investigation within the project “The knowledge base of Swedish criminal policy 1853–2024”, this historical criminological sub-study analyses the changed use of criminal policy knowledge in the political debate on theft and civil death in the late 19th century, a debate where expertise, authority, comparisons, and statistics took on an increasingly important role in legitimizing criminal policy arguments.
The study is also tracing the development of criminal policy themes that are still relevant today. Deterrence as a criminal law purpose was opposed to stigmatization and the risk of recidivism, while treatment and rehabilitation were discussed as an important aspect of regaining full citizenship after serving a sentence. Above all, the discussion on just deserts and references to a public sense of justice played a crucial role in both the criticism and the defence of loss of civic trust.