Spoilers
Spoilers
Spoilers
Spoilers
At the beginning of TGWTDT Mikal Bloomquist is found guilty of some kind of crime. What was he charged with? Is it normal to let the prisoner run around free for six months in this type of crime?
Libel.
And it was a civil trial, not criminal.
Then why did he wind up in prison?
Wiki
In Sweden, the criminal offense of denigration (ärekränkning) is regulated in Chapter 5 of the Criminal Code. Article 1 regulates defamation (förtal) and consists of pointing out someone as a criminal or as “having a reprehensible way of living”, or of providing information about him “intended to cause exposure to the disrespect of others”. The penalty is a fine.[68] It is generally not a requirement that the statements are untrue, it is enough if they statements are meant to be vilifying.[69][70]
Article 2 regulates gross defamation (grovt förtal) and has a penalty of up to 2 years in prison or a fine. In judging if the crime is gross, the court should consider whether the information, because of its content or the scope of its dissemination, is calculated to produce ”serious damage”.[68] For example, if it can be established that the defendant knowingly conveyed untruths.[69] Article 4 makes it a crime to defame a deceased person according to Article 1 or 2.[68] Most obviously, the paragraph is meant to make it illegal to defame someones parents as a way to bypass the law.[69]
Article 3 regulates other insulting behavior (förolämpning), not characterized under Article 1 or 2 and is punishable with a fine or, if it’s gross, with up to six months of prison or a fine.[68] While an act of defamation involves a third person, it is not a requirement for insulting behavior.[69]
Oh, and as to this part, he’s not a prisoner until convicted and so sentenced. In cases like this, where the defendant is not deemed to be a danger to society and where the risk of him running off to avoid trial is low, it is a generally well-established position that the defendant is not incarcerated before trial. However, this is not true in all countries, of course, but it seems to be so in Sweeden.
The book as I remember begins with his having been convicted and sentenced. He’s allowed to schedule his prison term. It seemed a bit odd to me too.
Actually in the book, he’s already been convicted and sentenced but does indeed get a 6 month or so reprieve before he has to report to serve his time. I know nothing about Swedish law, but this takes place in the U.S. in certain cases too. Probably for much the same reasons **Isamu **noted: the flight risk is considered low, the risk to the public minimal, and/or the jails are overcrowded.
Rod (I can’t spell his last name), ex-governor of Illinois, was just convicted and sentenced. I don’t think he has to report until February.
I know that some convicted people in the US are allowed to serve only on weekends, or to have some time to put their affairs in order before starting the sentence. I thought that Blomkvist was being granted quite a long period of time before having to report, but I put this down as artistic license. I thought that it was so he would have enough time to do the legwork, and then he could spend all that time in the cooler, thinking things through.
I watched the Swedish movie a short while ago and I think my college dorms were more oppressive than the prison depicted in the movie. I imagine things are different for violent criminals. Anyway, I think the view is more that the time in prison is like a price that needs to be paid sooner or later rather than a punishment that needs to be applied swiftly.
Exactly. They have time to get their financial and family affairs in order, then they show up and go…away for awhile.