The 29-year-old woman who stands trial on suspicion of having unprovokedly attacked and killed a 78-year-old woman in Uppsala has previously committed several other acts of insanity and has had several contacts with psychiatry. However, with current legislation, it is not possible to lock people up to prevent them from committing crimes.
– Psychiatry does not have a crime prevention mission. Their task is to care for patients who seek health care, says Moa Dahlin, docent in public law at Uppsala University.
It was in December last year that 78-year-old Lisbeth Liljegren became the victim of an act of insanity. On her way to the store to buy coffee, she was attacked by a woman who kicked and jumped on her head. The injuries were so serious that Lisbeth died.
– I thought it’s not true, it’s not true, says Lisbeth’s daughter Camilla Ek about when she received the death notice.
The 29-year-old woman who is suspected of the murder has previously committed several violent crimes. She has, among other things, attacked people at a subway station and injured healthcare staff at the psychiatric facility where she was temporarily cared for.
“What was she doing outside?”
The police, who repeatedly drove the woman to the psychiatric clinic, have warned that she is dangerous to the public.
Lisbeth’s second daughter Carina Cedergren wonders why the 29-year-old was not locked up.
– What I was told is that the police have given a lot of warning bells about this girl. What was she doing outside?
Can not compulsory care
But the healthcare system cannot under current legislation commit someone to compulsory care just because they are judged to pose a danger to others, says Moa Dahlin, associate professor of public law at Uppsala University, who has researched compulsory psychiatric care
– It is clear that in theory you could lock up people you think are dangerous. But since the accuracy of making risk assessments regarding who will commit crimes is very poor, you would have to lock up a great many people as a preventive measure to prevent someone from being murdered.
If the legislation were to change, Moa Dahlin believes that we also have to ask ourselves the question whether only people with mental illness should be locked up to prevent crime.
– There are many other groups in society that we know have a very high risk of committing crimes that we do not lock up in advance to prevent violent crimes, she says.
Can be sentenced to forensic psychiatric care
The 29-year-old woman accused of murder is now undergoing a forensic psychiatric examination to find out if she suffers from a serious mental illness. In that case, she can be sentenced to forensic psychiatric care for the murder of Lisbeth Liljegren, which is something different from compulsory psychiatric care. The investigation is expected to be completed at the end of March and after that the trial will continue.