Helge Iversen, formerly of Fossmo, has been sentenced to life in prison for incitement to murder and incitement to attempted murder after the so-called Knutby drama in 2004. Next year, Iversen has been in custody for 16 years.
This spring, Helge Iversen made a third attempt to have his life sentence fixed.
Two weeks ago, a hearing was held in Örebro District Court, where Iversen had the opportunity to present his case.
On Wednesday, Örebro District Court decided to grant Helge Iversen's application, and to sentence him to 26 years.
In Sweden, you usually serve two thirds of your sentence before being released on parole.
- It will be 17 years and 4 months, so in 2021 he will be out approximately, says Anders Domert, chief councilor at Örebro District Court.
Plans for the afterlife
The district court's decision mentions that Iversen misbehaved during the enforcement period, among other things by deviating from a leave.
However, not so serious that it would affect the court's assessment to convert his life sentence to a fixed-term sentence.
On the contrary, the district court considers that Helge Iversen contributed to promoting his adaptation to society.
He has carried out hundreds of leave during his time at an institution in Norrland.
A large part of them he has devoted to spending time with family, and during his time at the institution he has studied and participated in work.
He has stated that, if he gets his sentence converted, he wants exclusion with a foot shackle.
He has concrete plans for work and living in a small town in Sweden.
- This is a great relief for him, to be able to put an end to this.
He hopes to be able to live in peace and harmony without being overly alerted by the press.
He wants a job and will settle in a city in Sweden, says Helge Iversen's lawyer Anton Strand.
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"If he were to relapse, I would be more surprised than I ever was."
Hear defense lawyer David Strand after the news that Helge Iversen, formerly of Fossmo, will receive his life sentence for a fixed term.
Photo: SVT
The district court's assessment
In the district court's documentation, it can be read that it is not impossible for Iversen to manipulate his surroundings in the future, but on the other hand, there is no risk that he will commit a serious crime.
The biggest national factor according to the National Board of Forensic Medicine is Iversen's personality traits, that he is manipulative and lacks empathic ability.
It is also aggravating that he wants to transfer parts of the responsibility of his deeds to another person.
The district court writes in its decision that there is always some degree of risk that a previously convicted person will relapse into crime.
However, such a general risk is not sufficient for the district court to justify the rejection of the application, because it is required that the risk is concrete.
The risk of recidivism in crime in Iversen's case is believed to be so limited that it does not prevent a conversion to life imprisonment.
The prosecutor in the case has previously approved that the sentence be time-limited, but thought that in that case it would be at least 28 years in prison.
Helge Iversen's lawyer Anton Strand, on the other hand, considered that the sentence should be set at 25 years.
How did you come to just 26 years?
- It is based on how serious the crime is and how long it is estimated to take for him to reintegrate into society, says Anders Domert, chief counsel at Örebro District Court.
The various parties have three weeks to appeal the decision to the Göta Court of Appeal in Jönköping.