Leif Axmyr

Leif Axmyr
Born (1938-06-11)11 June 1938
Gothenburg, Sweden
Died 11 October 2018(2018-10-11) (aged 80)
Halmstad, Sweden
Nationality Swedish
Criminal charge Two counts of murder
Criminal penalty Life imprisonment
Criminal status Released as of 2 June 2016[1]

Leif Bruno Axmyr (11 June 1938 – 11 October 2018) was a Swedish criminal and murderer. At the time of his release in 2016, he was Sweden's longest-serving inmate who had served life imprisonment.[2] In 1997, the newspaper Svenska Dagbladet stated that Axmyr was Sweden's longest-serving prisoner in a Swedish prison.[3] Örebro district court set a time for release after 51 years for Axmyr in 2013, and he was released on 2 June 2016 after serving 34 years in prison.[1]

Early life

Axmyr said in a radio documentary in 2008 that he was an "illegitimate child" and spent his first seven years in a child care home.[4] First he lived at a child care home called Kustens, then Ekedalen, and later also Vidkärrs child care home.[4] Axmyr stated that there was a rough climate within the child care homes with abuse such as beatings as regular occurrences.[4]

First crimes

Already at a young age he committed violent offences; he beat up his stepfather at the age of seventeen, and stated that he enjoyed doing it and would have beaten him to death if his friends had not stepped in.[5] Axmyr was first sentenced to prison time in 1958 for robbery and, with short interruptions, spent almost fifty years in Swedish prisons.[6] Axmyr considered himself as a leader within the prison world and had many infractions of violence and threats.[7] Twice he was put through mental evaluations while imprisoned in 1963 and 1982; both times doctors evaluated that he had personality disorder and psychopathic personality traits.[8][9] Doctors also stated that he had low anxiety control and impulse control problems.[9]

Murders

Axmyr was about to be released in 1982 after serving a longer prison term for violent crimes,[10] the last prison term of many which started in 1958 for diverse crimes.[5] During leave from prison on 29 May 1982, Axmyr beat his ex-girlfriend Ulla-Britt Jakobsson and her male friend Hans Larsson to death at Jakobsson's apartment.[11] At the time of the murders, Axmyr was not aware that Hans was the son of politician Allan Larsson (later Sweden's finance minister). Before leaving the apartment he lit three fires, and he was arrested shortly after leaving Skutskär by police.[12] He was later sentenced to life imprisonment for double murder and several related crimes including arson.[13][14] A mental evaluation determined that Axmyr was not insane.[15] At the trial Axmyr confessed that he used a crowbar during the crime.[16] The court concluded that Axmyr murdered both persons with complete disregard for human life and that the victims had suffered before dying.[16]

Parole applications

Axmyr was denied parole eleven times between 1999 and 2001.[17]

In November 2006, Axmyr applied to have his life term commuted into a time-limited sentence. He was denied this in November 2007.[18] He was again denied on 23 May 2008. This was appealed to the Göta Court of Appeal, which also denied the application on 28 November 2008.[19] In November 2009 he again applied to have his sentence commuted.[20] A strong reason for denying commutation had been that Axmyr continued to commit crimes within prison such as joining the criminal group Brödraskapet.[21][22] He beat up other prisoners and threatened journalists from the newspaper Expressen.[23][24]

However, on 7 May 2010 Örebro district court announced that Axmyr would be approved to have his sentence commuted to a limited sentence, and that he would be released in 2013.[25] A time limit of 46 years and 6 months was set. The Göta Court of Appeal later overturned the district court ruling.[26] Axmyr then turned to the High Court which on 17 March 2011 denied review of the case.[27]

Axmyr had all of his approved leave days from prison denied after 2006 after breaking the rules several times. In 2013 he again got to have approved leave days from prison.[28]

On 10 June, 2013, Örebro district court again approved a commuted sentence for Axmyr, who after serving 34 years in prison was released in June 2016.[29] The court took into consideration his failing health and old age,[30] while also considering that there was a risk that he would re-offend and that he suffered from personality disorder and psychopathy.[31]

Release and death

He was released on June 2, 2016. He was 78 at the time. Axmyr died on 11 October 2018 at the age of 80.[32]

References

  1. 1 2 "Efter 34 år i fängelse – nu är Leif Axmyr fri". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  2. ↑ "Vännen om Leif Axmyrs sista tid". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  3. ↑ "Fången som suttit längst: dubbelmördaren som ber om nåd". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 27 December 1997.
  4. 1 2 3 "Ärrad del 2" (in Swedish). RadioDokumentarer – via YouTube. De var inte snälla då fröknarna på den tiden. Nej, utan man fick straff och i värsta fall ris i arslet så att man inte kunde sitta på flera dar. Då höll två fröknar en i armarna så och den tredje slog.
  5. 1 2 Wahldén, Christina. "Fängslad sedan 1982". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  6. ↑ "Leif Axmyr om nya livet i frihet efter 34 år i fängelse". Expressen (in Swedish). Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  7. ↑ "Axmyrs frigivning kan skjutas upp". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  8. ↑ "Sista intervjun med Leif Axmyr". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  9. 1 2 Wahldén, Christina. "Fängslad sedan 1982". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  10. ↑ Ida Thulin: Livstid behövs GT 25 juli 2007 "Några dagar senare skulle han frigivits från ett straff på 1,5 år för narkotikabrott och grov misshandel."
  11. ↑ "Mördade ministerns son inlåst i över 20 år". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  12. ↑ "Dubbelmördaren Leif Axmyr frigiven efter 34 år i fängelse – "är uppskruvad"". Arbetarbladet (in Swedish). 2 June 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  13. ↑ "Mördade ministerns son inlåst i över 20 år". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  14. ↑ "Leif Axmyr - Ledare". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 29 September 2007.
  15. ↑ "Livstidsdömde Leif Axmyr" (in Swedish). jinge.se. 17 November 2007. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  16. 1 2 "Jag slog en kofot i pannan på dom". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  17. ↑ Norström, Camilla (12 January 2003). "Regeringen vägrar benåda – år efter år". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). p. 9.
  18. ↑ "Axmyr får inte tidsbestämt straff". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  19. ↑ "Leif Axmyr tidsbestämt straff" (in Swedish). jnytt.se. Archived from the original on 25 May 2012.
  20. ↑ "Axmyr vill få tidsbestämt straff". Gefle Dagblad (in Swedish). 30 December 2009. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  21. ↑ "BSK ARKIV" (in Swedish). bsk-arkiv. May 2009. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  22. ↑ "Imläst halva sitt liv". Expressen. Archived from the original on 18 January 2012.
  23. ↑ "Fängelseledningen visste om planerna". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  24. ↑ "Leif Axmyr misstänkts för nya brott". Expressen (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 13 May 2010.
  25. ↑ "Tingsrätten omvandlar ådömt livstidsstraff". Örebro tingsrätt (in Swedish). 7 May 2010. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  26. ↑ "Axmyr får avslag". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). 21 December 2010. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  27. ↑ "Leif Axmyr blir kvar i fängelset". Arbetarbladet (in Swedish). 17 March 2011. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  28. ↑ "Livstidsdömde Leif Axmyr vill flytta till Halmstad". Laholmstidning (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 15 February 2015.
  29. ↑ "Jail term cut for 'most dangerous' Swedish killer". The Local. 10 June 2013. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  30. ↑ "Swedish court reduces jail time for killer". United Press International. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  31. ↑ "Leif Axmyr får tidsbestämt straff". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  32. ↑ "The double murderer Leif Axmyr died – became 80 years old". vaaju.com. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.