Fritz Moen
Encyclopedia
Fritz Yngvar Moen was a Norwegian man wrongfully convicted
for two distinct felony murder
s, serving a total of 18 years in prison. After the overturn of the conviction an official inquiry was instigated to establish what had gone wrong in the authorities' handling of the case, and on June 25, 2007 the commission dealt a crushing blow to both the police
, the prosecution and the courts
in what was immediately termed the largest justice scandal in Norway of all time.
Moen was deaf with a severe speech impediment. He was also partly paralyzed, but had normal intelligence and good memory.
:
The prosecuting authorities relied on Moen's confession to the murders, a confession that appears to have been coerced by way of intimidation.
Biological samples were collected at both crime scenes and tested with available technology at the time; but the samples were since lost and destroyed for reasons that remain unclear.
When Moen was convicted, his defense lawyer, Olav Hestenes announced: "For the first time at this desk, I allow myself to say that a travesty of justice has been committed."
The judge, Karl Solberg, reacted furiously and later applauded the courts verdict. Solberg has become notorious in actions of miscarriage of justice, being instrumental in the wrongful incarcerations of Fritz Moen and Atle Hage.
announced that the court reversed the conviction and acquitted Moen for the attempted rape and murder of Sigrid Heggheim. The court found that the forensic evidence was exonerative of Moen, and that in any case reasonable doubt should have acquitted him in the first place. Among other things, he had an alibi for the most likely time of the crime. Also, the forensic evidence indicated that the perpetrator had pursued the victim across a field, knocked her down, and then tied her with her own clothes - Moen was partly paralyzed and physically incapable of these actions.
The court rejected the appeal for a resumption of the Torunn Finstad case, and on October 13, 2005, the Norwegian Criminal Cases Review Commission received a preliminary application for review of the case. When Moen died on March 28, 2005 of natural causes, it became known that he wanted the case on his behalf to continue.
In December 2005, it became known that Tor Hepsø, a convicted felon with a long history of violence, had made a deathbed confession
that he had killed both Sigrid Heggheim and Torunn Finstad. On June 15, 2006, the Criminal Cases Review Board formally accepted the application, and on August 24, 2006, Frostating court acquitted posthumously Fritz Moen also for the rape and murder of Sigrid Heggheim. It was found that the preponderance of the evidence made the man with the deathbed confession a more likely suspect, and that Moen's confession was likely coerced and only included information that had been made public.
These two acquittals are widely attributed to the tireless work of his defense attorney John Christian Elden and private investigator Tore Sandberg.
There is now an expectation that Fritz Moen's estate will file a civil suit against the Norwegian government for several tens of millions of Norwegian kroner.
The case has attracted widespread public opinion in Norway. There are calls for a formal inquiry into the conduct of the prosecutors and police, and there is even talk of erecting a bust or statue of Moen in front of the Norwegian Ministry of Justice
as a symbol of the responsibilities of the criminal justice system.
delivered its findings to the Norwegian Minister of Justice Knut Storberget
. The commission stated that the principle of objectivity
was violated repeatedly by both the police
and the courts
. The commission found that the most important lesson that can be learned from this case is that the presumption of innocence
must be attended by both the public prosecutors and the courts. Chair of the commission Mæland stated that witnesses had been coaxed by the Trondheim police force while at the same time significant evidence proving the innocence of Moen had been withheld from the prosecutors and the courts. "Some of the evidence has basically been hidden within the police reports," Mæland concluded. The justice minister commented during the press conference that "the commission's report shows that grave errors have been committed leading to grave results."
The commissioned was appointed on September 8, 2006 by the Norwegian cabinet. It consisted apart from professor Mæland of judge Inger Marie Dons Jensen and psychiatrist Ingrid Lycke Ellingsen. Its mandate was to "find out why Moen was wrongfully convicted and evaluate whether changes are needed in the criminal justice system to avoid wrongful convictions in the future".
Infringement (Overgrepet) by Tore Sandberg, the private investigator involved in Moen's case, was published in October 2007. The book names police officers and other public servants instrumental in the Moen's criminal prosecution.
On 5 February 2008, the Standing Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs of the Norwegian Parliament recommended that a commission be named to investigate and, if warranted, prosecute for impeachment
three of the Norwegian Supreme Court Justices who presided over the Moen cases. The three were Magnus Matningsdal
, Karin Maria Bruzelius
and Eilert Stang Lund
. However, when the case went to the Standing Committee on Justice, it was closed.
Justice:Denied
, the only wrongful conviction magazine in the United States, published an article about Fritz Moen's case in its Spring 2008 issue: "Exonerated Of Two Murders, Fritz Moen Posthumously Awarded $4 Million".
The conclusion of the inquiry recommended not to investigate in order to label responsibility to individual officers or judicial since "such action would probably lead to the pulverization of responsibility". As no one wishes to take individual responsibility for what happened to Fritz Moen, the case is by many bloggers labeled as a gross example of police and prosecution cowardice.
Miscarriage of justice
A miscarriage of justice primarily is the conviction and punishment of a person for a crime they did not commit. The term can also apply to errors in the other direction—"errors of impunity", and to civil cases. Most criminal justice systems have some means to overturn, or "quash", a wrongful...
for two distinct felony murder
Felony murder
The rule of felony murder is a legal doctrine in some common law jurisdictions that broadens the crime of murder in two ways. First, when an offender kills accidentally or without specific intent to kill in the course of an applicable felony, what might have been manslaughter is escalated to murder...
s, serving a total of 18 years in prison. After the overturn of the conviction an official inquiry was instigated to establish what had gone wrong in the authorities' handling of the case, and on June 25, 2007 the commission dealt a crushing blow to both the police
Norwegian Police Service
The Norwegian Police Service is the official police force in Norway which are run by the Minister of Justice and Police. The department consists of 27 regional areas and seven national special forces. The department has about 11,000 employees....
, the prosecution and the courts
Courts of Justice of Norway
The structure of the Courts of Justice in Norway is pyramidic and hierarchic with the Supreme Court at the apex. The conciliation boards only hear certain types of civil cases. The District Courts are deemed to be the first instance of the Courts of Justice...
in what was immediately termed the largest justice scandal in Norway of all time.
Moen was deaf with a severe speech impediment. He was also partly paralyzed, but had normal intelligence and good memory.
Initial conviction and sentencing
He was convicted for two separate rapes and murders, both in TrondheimTrondheim
Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
:
- Torunn Finstad, who was reported missing on October 4, 1977 and was found dead on October 6, 1977, after having been raped and strangled. Moen was indicted by FrostatingFrostatingFrostating was the site of an early Norwegian court. Frostating had its seat at Tinghaugen in Frosta municipality in the county of Nord-Trøndelag.-Tinghaugen:...
court for the crime on April 11, 1978 and convicted and sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment on May 29 the same year. This sentence was reduced to 16 years on appeal. - Sigrid Heggheim, who was found dead in September 1976. She had been strangled and an attempt had been made to rape her. The same court indicted Moen for murder and attempted rape on September 15, 1981, and on December 18 he was convicted and sentenced to an additional 5 years. An appeal was rejected.
The prosecuting authorities relied on Moen's confession to the murders, a confession that appears to have been coerced by way of intimidation.
Biological samples were collected at both crime scenes and tested with available technology at the time; but the samples were since lost and destroyed for reasons that remain unclear.
When Moen was convicted, his defense lawyer, Olav Hestenes announced: "For the first time at this desk, I allow myself to say that a travesty of justice has been committed."
The judge, Karl Solberg, reacted furiously and later applauded the courts verdict. Solberg has become notorious in actions of miscarriage of justice, being instrumental in the wrongful incarcerations of Fritz Moen and Atle Hage.
Reversal
Moen's attorney requested a new trial for both cases on January 2, 2000. The court accepted the requests for the Sigrid Heggheim case, and on October 7, 2004 judge Wenche SkjæggestadWenche Skjæggestad
Wenche Skjæggestad is a Norwegian judge.She was born in Oslo, and graduated with the cand.jur. degree in 1978. She worked as a police superindendent for four years, and then deputy judge in Ytre Follo from 1983 to 1984...
announced that the court reversed the conviction and acquitted Moen for the attempted rape and murder of Sigrid Heggheim. The court found that the forensic evidence was exonerative of Moen, and that in any case reasonable doubt should have acquitted him in the first place. Among other things, he had an alibi for the most likely time of the crime. Also, the forensic evidence indicated that the perpetrator had pursued the victim across a field, knocked her down, and then tied her with her own clothes - Moen was partly paralyzed and physically incapable of these actions.
The court rejected the appeal for a resumption of the Torunn Finstad case, and on October 13, 2005, the Norwegian Criminal Cases Review Commission received a preliminary application for review of the case. When Moen died on March 28, 2005 of natural causes, it became known that he wanted the case on his behalf to continue.
In December 2005, it became known that Tor Hepsø, a convicted felon with a long history of violence, had made a deathbed confession
Deathbed confession
A deathbed confession is a confession of some sort when someone is assumed to be close to death. Sometimes, it takes place on their "deathbed," the bed in which a person dies or lies in during the last few hours before death, hence the phrase.-Judaism:...
that he had killed both Sigrid Heggheim and Torunn Finstad. On June 15, 2006, the Criminal Cases Review Board formally accepted the application, and on August 24, 2006, Frostating court acquitted posthumously Fritz Moen also for the rape and murder of Sigrid Heggheim. It was found that the preponderance of the evidence made the man with the deathbed confession a more likely suspect, and that Moen's confession was likely coerced and only included information that had been made public.
These two acquittals are widely attributed to the tireless work of his defense attorney John Christian Elden and private investigator Tore Sandberg.
There is now an expectation that Fritz Moen's estate will file a civil suit against the Norwegian government for several tens of millions of Norwegian kroner.
The case has attracted widespread public opinion in Norway. There are calls for a formal inquiry into the conduct of the prosecutors and police, and there is even talk of erecting a bust or statue of Moen in front of the Norwegian Ministry of Justice
Norwegian Ministry of Justice and the Police
The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Justice and the Police is a Norwegian government ministry in charge of justice, police and domestic intelligence. The main purpose of the Ministry is to provide for the maintenance and development of the basic guarantees of the rule of law...
as a symbol of the responsibilities of the criminal justice system.
Inquiry
On June 25, 2007 a commission headed by Henry John Mæland, professor of law at the University of BergenUniversity of Bergen
The University of Bergen is located in Bergen, Norway. Although founded as late as 1946, academic activity had taken place at Bergen Museum as far back as 1825. The university today serves more than 14,500 students...
delivered its findings to the Norwegian Minister of Justice Knut Storberget
Knut Storberget
Knut Storberget is a Norwegian barrister and politician for the Norwegian Labour Party. He became the Minister of Justice and the Police serving in the second cabinet Stoltenberg from 2005. Storberget stepped down on November 11, 2011.He was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Hedmark in...
. The commission stated that the principle of objectivity
Right to a fair trial
The right to fair trial is an essential right in all countries respecting the rule of law. A trial in these countries that is deemed unfair will typically be restarted, or its verdict voided....
was violated repeatedly by both the police
Norwegian Police Service
The Norwegian Police Service is the official police force in Norway which are run by the Minister of Justice and Police. The department consists of 27 regional areas and seven national special forces. The department has about 11,000 employees....
and the courts
Courts of Justice of Norway
The structure of the Courts of Justice in Norway is pyramidic and hierarchic with the Supreme Court at the apex. The conciliation boards only hear certain types of civil cases. The District Courts are deemed to be the first instance of the Courts of Justice...
. The commission found that the most important lesson that can be learned from this case is that the presumption of innocence
Presumption of innocence
The presumption of innocence, sometimes referred to by the Latin expression Ei incumbit probatio qui dicit, non qui negat, is the principle that one is considered innocent until proven guilty. Application of this principle is a legal right of the accused in a criminal trial, recognised in many...
must be attended by both the public prosecutors and the courts. Chair of the commission Mæland stated that witnesses had been coaxed by the Trondheim police force while at the same time significant evidence proving the innocence of Moen had been withheld from the prosecutors and the courts. "Some of the evidence has basically been hidden within the police reports," Mæland concluded. The justice minister commented during the press conference that "the commission's report shows that grave errors have been committed leading to grave results."
The commissioned was appointed on September 8, 2006 by the Norwegian cabinet. It consisted apart from professor Mæland of judge Inger Marie Dons Jensen and psychiatrist Ingrid Lycke Ellingsen. Its mandate was to "find out why Moen was wrongfully convicted and evaluate whether changes are needed in the criminal justice system to avoid wrongful convictions in the future".
Infringement (Overgrepet) by Tore Sandberg, the private investigator involved in Moen's case, was published in October 2007. The book names police officers and other public servants instrumental in the Moen's criminal prosecution.
On 5 February 2008, the Standing Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs of the Norwegian Parliament recommended that a commission be named to investigate and, if warranted, prosecute for impeachment
Impeachment (Norway)
In Norway, impeachment, also known as the Constitutional Court of the Realm , is a judicial process with the power to convict Members of Parliament, Members of the Council of State and Supreme Court Justices for criminal acts performed in line of duty. Impeachment is based on the Constitution of...
three of the Norwegian Supreme Court Justices who presided over the Moen cases. The three were Magnus Matningsdal
Magnus Matningsdal
Magnus Matningsdal is a Norwegian judge.He graduated as cand.jur. in 1976 and the took the dr.juris degree in 1986. He was a professor at the University of Bergen from 1987 to 1989, and assisting professor from 1989 to 1997. At the same time he was a judge in Jæren from 1989 and presiding judge in...
, Karin Maria Bruzelius
Karin Maria Bruzelius
Karin Maria Bruzelius is a Swedish-Norwegian judge.She was born in Lund, Sweden, graduated as cand.jur. from Lund University in 1964 and Master of Law from Columbia Law School in 1969. She worked in the Norwegian Ministry of Justice and the Police from 1965, and became deputy under-secretary of...
and Eilert Stang Lund
Eilert Stang Lund
Eilert Stang Lund is a Norwegian judge.He graduated as cand.jur. from the University of Oslo in 1965 and as Master of Law from Harvard University in 1973. He then worked as a consultant in the Ministry of Justice and the Police from 1965, as an attorney and lawyer in the Office of the Attorney...
. However, when the case went to the Standing Committee on Justice, it was closed.
Justice:Denied
Justice Denied
Justice Denied is the only regularly published print magazine in the world solely devoted to issues related to wrongful convictions. The magazine prints stories about wrongful convictions, miscarriages of justice, and criminal justice issues related to prosecution and conviction of innocent people...
, the only wrongful conviction magazine in the United States, published an article about Fritz Moen's case in its Spring 2008 issue: "Exonerated Of Two Murders, Fritz Moen Posthumously Awarded $4 Million".
The conclusion of the inquiry recommended not to investigate in order to label responsibility to individual officers or judicial since "such action would probably lead to the pulverization of responsibility". As no one wishes to take individual responsibility for what happened to Fritz Moen, the case is by many bloggers labeled as a gross example of police and prosecution cowardice.
External links
- Norwegian Criminal Cases Review Board decision about Moen's case (Norwegian)
- Norwegian Criminal Cases Review Board decision about Moen's case (English)
- Exonerated Of Two Murders, Fritz Moen Posthumously Awarded $4 Million, Justice:Denied - the magazine for the wrongly convicted, Issue 40 (Spring 2008)