Capital punishment in Denmark
Encyclopedia
Capital punishment
in Denmark
( - literally "Death punishment") has been entirely abolished in peace-time since 1930 and for war crimes since 1978 (or strictly since 1 January 1994). The last peace-time execution was carried out in 1892, but followed by executions during the World War II
purge
s in 1945-50. Reinstitution of capital punishment is not supported by any political party in Parliament. According to an opinion poll from 2006, one fifth of Danes supported capital punishment for certain crimes. The number was unchanged since another poll in 1999.
The last public execution was conducted in 1882 on Lolland
, when Anders Nielsen was executed. Jens Nielsen was the last man executed under the penal code. He was executed on 8 November 1892 in the courtyard of the State Prison of Horsens, convicted on three counts of attempted murder. He was beheaded
with an axe
. Both executions were conducted by Jens Carl Theodor Seistrup, the second-to-last executioner and the last actively to do executions for the Government of Denmark. The last headsman in office was Carl Peter Hermann Christensen
who held the position from 27 August 1906 until 1 April 1926, but never performed any executions.
Starting during the first decennia of the 1800s, death penalties were increasingly commuted to life imprisonment by the Crown
. After 1892, death sentences were handed down but not carried out. This also applied to the last death sentence which was handed down in a civil court on 13 June 1928.
, three special laws were enacted as amendments to the penal code , all having the option of capital punishment, related only to war crimes committed during World War II. These were ex post facto law
s and were part of the purges (Danish: Retsopgøret) attempting to meet the public opinion that the most severe war criminals be punished by death. These included HIPO
and Gestapo
officers, many notorious for brutal murders or torture, and certain informers. In contrast to certain other countries which had been occupied by Nazi Germany
, simple collaborators or sympathizers with the Germans were generally not sentenced to death.
About 13,500 people were sentenced as collaborators, denouncers or traitors under these laws. Of these, 76 received the death penalty and 46 of them were carried out, the last in June 1950. The 30 remaining were pardoned. The sentences were carried out by firing squads of 10 voluntary police officers, either in Undallslund Plantage (17), close to Viborg
or on the military training grounds at Margreteholm, Christianshavn
, Copenhagen
(29). The latter execution area is today inside Christiania
, on the Second Redan
of the outer rampart
, Enveloppen (in Christiania called Aircondition, Dyssen area) where a concrete floor and drain can still be seen at coordinates 55.679871°N 12.61363°W. (See: Freetown Christiania#Barracks and ramparts)
Capital punishment in these laws (not the laws themselves) was eliminated in 1951. However, as capital punishment was still mentioned in the preamble of the law text, a new amendment confirming the removal of the death penalty was approved in Parliament on 22 December 1993, effective from 1 January 1994.
had issued their thoughts about Denmark's return to democracy after the war. Among their demands was prosecution of war criminals and of those responsible for the violation of Denmark's legal system and independence. They endorsed retroactive legislation but were, however, opposed to the death penalty.
During the last two years of the occupation, Danish resistance fighters were subject to harsh repression, torture and execution by the Germans. The popular sentiment led to wide demands for using the death penalty after the war. Shortly before the liberation, the Freedom Council let a clandestine committee of lawyers elaborate a proposal for a war crimes act, including the death penalty. The Prime Minister appointed another committee, consisting of civil servants and judges. These two proposals were fused to a bill of law. A major point of difference was whether the law would be retroactive to only the 29 August 1943, when the Danish government resigned, or all the way back to 9 April 1940 when the occupation had begun. The resistance movement got its way and the latter was decided.
The penal code appendix bill was treated in Parliament from 26 to 30 May 1945, just three weeks after the liberation on 5 May. 127 members of the Folketing
voted for the law, 5 members of the Justice Party abstained because of opposition to the death penalty, and 19 were absent. On 31 May it was confirmed by the Landsting by 67 votes for, 1 against and 8 were absent. Among the opponents were J.K. Jensen of the Radical Liberal Party and Oluf Pedersen
of the Justice Party. Pedersen proposed an amendment which would postpone any executions until a referendum had confirmed the new law. Subsequently, he received threats from former resistance fighters.
K.K. Steincke of the Social Democrats, himself a lawyer, expressed the general viewpoint in this way:
The purge after World War II has been widely debated, partially because small offences were sentenced quicker and generally more severely than processes for greater offences which lasted longer, while moods were cooling down after the end of the war. Another point of critique was the retroactivity
of the law. Contrarily, proponents in the 1945 debate argued that if the death penalty was not re-applied, war criminals would be subject to mob justice or lynching
s. According to a 1945 opinion poll, about 90 percent of the population were in favour of death penalty for certain war criminals.
The background been documented in depth by historian Ditlev Tamm.
. It was abolished again in 1978. At the same time capital punishment was abolished in military law. No people were ever sentenced under this law.
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
( - literally "Death punishment") has been entirely abolished in peace-time since 1930 and for war crimes since 1978 (or strictly since 1 January 1994). The last peace-time execution was carried out in 1892, but followed by executions during the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
purge
Purge
In history, religion, and political science, a purge is the removal of people who are considered undesirable by those in power from a government, from another organization, or from society as a whole. Purges can be peaceful or violent; many will end with the imprisonment or exile of those purged,...
s in 1945-50. Reinstitution of capital punishment is not supported by any political party in Parliament. According to an opinion poll from 2006, one fifth of Danes supported capital punishment for certain crimes. The number was unchanged since another poll in 1999.
History
For the most part, Denmark followed the style of other European nations, with government-employed executioners, called skarpretter (headsman) in Denmark. The headsman had the status of a Royal government employee.The last public execution was conducted in 1882 on Lolland
Lolland
Lolland is the fourth largest island of Denmark, with an area of 1,243 square kilometers . Located in the Baltic sea, it is part of Region Sjælland...
, when Anders Nielsen was executed. Jens Nielsen was the last man executed under the penal code. He was executed on 8 November 1892 in the courtyard of the State Prison of Horsens, convicted on three counts of attempted murder. He was beheaded
Decapitation
Decapitation is the separation of the head from the body. Beheading typically refers to the act of intentional decapitation, e.g., as a means of murder or execution; it may be accomplished, for example, with an axe, sword, knife, wire, or by other more sophisticated means such as a guillotine...
with an axe
Axe
The axe, or ax, is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood; to harvest timber; as a weapon; and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol...
. Both executions were conducted by Jens Carl Theodor Seistrup, the second-to-last executioner and the last actively to do executions for the Government of Denmark. The last headsman in office was Carl Peter Hermann Christensen
Carl Peter Hermann Christensen
Carl Peter Herman Christensen was the last executioner in office for the government of Denmark. He was hired by justice minister, Peter Adler Alberti and held the office from August 27, 1906 until April 1, 1926.He never conducted any executions...
who held the position from 27 August 1906 until 1 April 1926, but never performed any executions.
Starting during the first decennia of the 1800s, death penalties were increasingly commuted to life imprisonment by the Crown
Monarchy of Denmark
The monarchy in Denmark is the constitutional monarchy of the Kingdom of Denmark, which includes Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands.As a constitutional monarch, the Queen is limited to non-partisan, ceremonial functions...
. After 1892, death sentences were handed down but not carried out. This also applied to the last death sentence which was handed down in a civil court on 13 June 1928.
Abolishment in 1933
On 1 January 1933, Denmark abolished all capital punishment under the old penal code, when the new Danish Penal Code automatically came into effect, entirely replacing the older code from 10 February 1866. Under military law, however, capital punishment still remained an option.The post 1945 purges
After the occupation of DenmarkOccupation of Denmark
Nazi Germany's occupation of Denmark began with Operation Weserübung on 9 April 1940, and lasted until German forces withdrew at the end of World War II following their surrender to the Allies on 5 May 1945. Contrary to the situation in other countries under German occupation, most Danish...
, three special laws were enacted as amendments to the penal code , all having the option of capital punishment, related only to war crimes committed during World War II. These were ex post facto law
Ex post facto law
An ex post facto law or retroactive law is a law that retroactively changes the legal consequences of actions committed or relationships that existed prior to the enactment of the law...
s and were part of the purges (Danish: Retsopgøret) attempting to meet the public opinion that the most severe war criminals be punished by death. These included HIPO
HIPO Corps
The HIPO Corps was a Danish auxiliary police corps, established in 1944 by the German Gestapo when the Danish police was disbanded and most of the regular policemen on September 19, 1944 were arrested and sent to concentration camps in Germany. Most members were recruited among Danish collaborators...
and Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
officers, many notorious for brutal murders or torture, and certain informers. In contrast to certain other countries which had been occupied by Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
, simple collaborators or sympathizers with the Germans were generally not sentenced to death.
About 13,500 people were sentenced as collaborators, denouncers or traitors under these laws. Of these, 76 received the death penalty and 46 of them were carried out, the last in June 1950. The 30 remaining were pardoned. The sentences were carried out by firing squads of 10 voluntary police officers, either in Undallslund Plantage (17), close to Viborg
Viborg, Denmark
Viborg , a town in central Jutland, Denmark, is the seat of both Viborg municipality and Region Midtjylland. Viborg is also the seat of the Western High Court, the High Court for the Jutland peninsula...
or on the military training grounds at Margreteholm, Christianshavn
Christianshavn
Christianshavn is an artificial island neighbourhood located in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was founded in the early 17th century by Christian IV as part of his extension of the fortifications of Copenhagen. Originally it was laid out as an independent privileged merchant's town with inspiration from...
, Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
(29). The latter execution area is today inside Christiania
Freetown Christiania
Not to be confused with Christiania, Norway, another name for Oslo.Christiania, also known as Freetown Christiania is a self-proclaimed autonomous neighbourhood of about 850 residents, covering 34 hectares in the borough of Christianshavn in the Danish capital Copenhagen...
, on the Second Redan
Redan
Redan is a term related to fortifications. It is a work in a V-shaped salient angle toward an expected attack...
of the outer rampart
Defensive wall
A defensive wall is a fortification used to protect a city or settlement from potential aggressors. In ancient to modern times, they were used to enclose settlements...
, Enveloppen (in Christiania called Aircondition, Dyssen area) where a concrete floor and drain can still be seen at coordinates 55.679871°N 12.61363°W. (See: Freetown Christiania#Barracks and ramparts)
Capital punishment in these laws (not the laws themselves) was eliminated in 1951. However, as capital punishment was still mentioned in the preamble of the law text, a new amendment confirming the removal of the death penalty was approved in Parliament on 22 December 1993, effective from 1 January 1994.
Political background
Already during the German occupation, in 1943, the clandestine Danish Freedom CouncilDanish Freedom Council
The Danish Freedom Council was a clandestine body set up in September 1943 in response to growing political turmoil surrounding the occupation of Denmark by German forces during the Second World War.-Background:...
had issued their thoughts about Denmark's return to democracy after the war. Among their demands was prosecution of war criminals and of those responsible for the violation of Denmark's legal system and independence. They endorsed retroactive legislation but were, however, opposed to the death penalty.
During the last two years of the occupation, Danish resistance fighters were subject to harsh repression, torture and execution by the Germans. The popular sentiment led to wide demands for using the death penalty after the war. Shortly before the liberation, the Freedom Council let a clandestine committee of lawyers elaborate a proposal for a war crimes act, including the death penalty. The Prime Minister appointed another committee, consisting of civil servants and judges. These two proposals were fused to a bill of law. A major point of difference was whether the law would be retroactive to only the 29 August 1943, when the Danish government resigned, or all the way back to 9 April 1940 when the occupation had begun. The resistance movement got its way and the latter was decided.
The penal code appendix bill was treated in Parliament from 26 to 30 May 1945, just three weeks after the liberation on 5 May. 127 members of the Folketing
Folketing
The Folketing , is the national parliament of Denmark. The name literally means "People's thing"—that is, the people's governing assembly. It is located in Christiansborg Palace, on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen....
voted for the law, 5 members of the Justice Party abstained because of opposition to the death penalty, and 19 were absent. On 31 May it was confirmed by the Landsting by 67 votes for, 1 against and 8 were absent. Among the opponents were J.K. Jensen of the Radical Liberal Party and Oluf Pedersen
Oluf Pedersen (politician)
Oluf Pedersen was a Danish politician from the Justice Party of Denmark . He was a member of the Folketing 1932-45 and 1950–60 and Minister of Fishery in the cabinet of H.C...
of the Justice Party. Pedersen proposed an amendment which would postpone any executions until a referendum had confirmed the new law. Subsequently, he received threats from former resistance fighters.
K.K. Steincke of the Social Democrats, himself a lawyer, expressed the general viewpoint in this way:
If anyone in 1939 had claimed that in six years from then I would be endorsing a bill about the death penalty, even with retroactive force, I would not have regarded him as sane. But since then, barbary and lawlessness have occurred, the normal state of law has been violated deeply, and I feel then more tied to a deeply violated public conscience than to normal conditions. We must deal with these criminals, not of a lust for revenge, but so that we soon may return to normal conditions.
The purge after World War II has been widely debated, partially because small offences were sentenced quicker and generally more severely than processes for greater offences which lasted longer, while moods were cooling down after the end of the war. Another point of critique was the retroactivity
Retroactivity
Retroactivity in law is the application of a given norm to events that took place or began to produce legal effects, before the law was approved...
of the law. Contrarily, proponents in the 1945 debate argued that if the death penalty was not re-applied, war criminals would be subject to mob justice or lynching
Lynching
Lynching is an extrajudicial execution carried out by a mob, often by hanging, but also by burning at the stake or shooting, in order to punish an alleged transgressor, or to intimidate, control, or otherwise manipulate a population of people. It is related to other means of social control that...
s. According to a 1945 opinion poll, about 90 percent of the population were in favour of death penalty for certain war criminals.
The background been documented in depth by historian Ditlev Tamm.
During the Cold War period
In 1952 Denmark reinstated capital punishment in the penal code for crimes committed with particular malice during war (murder, treason and denunciation, limited to offenders over the age of 21). The terms were similar to those of the 1945 penal code appendix, seeking to avoid the necessity of another law with retroactive force, should Denmark be occupied during the cold warCold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
. It was abolished again in 1978. At the same time capital punishment was abolished in military law. No people were ever sentenced under this law.