Jeanette Bergström, 61, died after being subjected to a severe assault last July. The man who carried out the assault was initially sentenced to life in prison for murder, a sentence that was reduced in the Court of Appeal to extremely serious assault. Now the public prosecutor has chosen to appeal the verdict to the Supreme Court and demands that the man be convicted of murder. – I want the Supreme Court to provide guidance on how the concept of cause should be assessed, says Petra Lundh, Attorney General. At the beginning of April, the judgment came in the Jeanette case, where the Court of Appeal reduced the sentence to extremely serious assault. The Court of Appeal’s assessments were that it could not be ruled out beyond a reasonable doubt that Jeanette Bergström died from drug poisoning from antidepressants. After the Court of Appeal’s decision to change the verdict, a large demonstration was held organized by several women’s shelters, which were contacted by several worried women after the verdict. – I felt despair when I read the verdict, says Betty Sporrong, one of the organizers. Betty Sporrong says that she meets an incredible number of women living in violent relationships, and that they encourage women to report the crimes and leave the relationship. – A sentence like this sends a signal that the legal system does not protect them, she says. Wants HD to provide guidance On Wednesday, the Attorney General announced that the Court of Appeal verdict is being appealed and is demanding that a man be sentenced for murder instead of extremely serious assault. Among other things, clarification is requested regarding how the term “causes” should be assessed in criminal law. – I want the Supreme Court to provide guidance on how the concept of cause should be assessed in the area of criminal law. In my view, the concept can be interpreted further than what the Court of Appeal does in this judgment and what courts in general do. As far as I know, no such discussion has been held in criminal law, at least not to any great extent, says Attorney General Petra Lundh. In appeals, the problem is described in more detail: “It is [- – -] it is not unusual that in cases of murder, manslaughter or causing the death of another there are cases where there are or may be competing (or cooperating) causes of death. This in turn gives rise to the question of which assessment model the court should use to determine whether it is the defendant, something else or what the defendant did in combination with other causes that caused the death and what this should be for in that case consequences in terms of the defendant’s responsibility.”, writes Petra Lund in the appeal.
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