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431:". Still he managed to commit one of the worst murder sprees in known Swedish history by killing four and wounding nine (of whom 8 survived) and a partly trashed ship. The victims of Nordlund's rampage included the ship's captain (Olof Rönngren), a butcher, an old lady, a farmer and a cattle merchant. His plan also failed in the aspect that he did not manage to steal the ship's register, leaving his booty at 845 kronor. He managed to escape from the ship because no one thought that one single man could be strong enough to put one of the life boats in the sea and row away.
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427:, with which he had planned to lock the door to the engine room. His plan was to rob and kill as many people as possible on the ship and steal the ship's register. To avoid early detection he also planned to torch the ship. This plan failed however, partly because scared passengers on the boat managed to attract the attention of another ferry, the "
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In court he never tried to act in a manner which would result in a lighter sentence; he never pleaded insanity, he showed no remorse saying only that he regretted not having killed everyone on the ferry. He was sentenced to death and to forever lose all privileges as a citizen for five murders, eight
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The year 1900 was one of the darkest for the people who wanted to abolish capital punishment in Sweden with three executions in the same year, all by decapitation (between 1866 and 1900 there were 11 executions in total). The people who argued that one inherited the role as a criminal and the people
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Some have claimed that the way
Nordlund acted after being caught is a proof of insanity, and that his lack of empathy for his victims also proves this. It has been said that had he not committed the act in a time when several gruesome murders were committed he would probably have received a lighter
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complaining about the fact that he had been wrongfully sentenced for robbery of people that he did not rob. The
Supreme Court wrote in their answer (of 13 November) that this was irrelevant and that the sentence passed by the court was correct. While awaiting his execution he met his mother several
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The act that he committed resulted in a media hysteria comparable to the ones we see today, partly because the ruthlessness of the crimes. Several papers competed with each other on several numbers of victims. In some papers the number of victims was exaggerated, claiming a much larger death toll.
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He was put in a holding cell in
Eskilstuna, in which the guards were barely able to keep an angry mob from killing him. On 18 May he wrote a letter to his family, explaining what he had done and that he was the one responsible for the newspaper headlines. The letter was published by the newspapers
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sentence (or been sent to an insanity asylum). The claims of insanity and the fact that two of the three persons executed in 1900 were claimed to have been insane, probably had an effect on the justice system with a 10-year stretch of reprieves until the execution of
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times (the last time five days before his execution). In addition the priest from LĂ„ngholmen, August
Hylander came to visit him several times. In his final letter to his parents he actually asked the Lord for redemption and told his parents good bye.
385:, where he was enrolled as prisoner number two. Due to unruly behaviour in prison and other things he was to serve four years and according to letters written by himself in 1900, it was here his plan for the future took its final and drastic shape.
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and working as a clerk, he went home to GĂ€vle. As an ex-convict he had difficulties getting a job, so soon he returned to his old life, but this time with a disastrous plan of one final big hit that would solve his problems.
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On the morning of 10 December
Nordlund was escorted to the prison yard of VÀsterÄs County Jail where he was strapped to a stretcher-resembling block and beheaded by the high executioner
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county jail injuring the jailors with a sharp object that he managed to manufacture in the cell. He attempted to escape once, because he had nothing to lose but to await execution.
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Nordlund had gotten used to thieving during his time on the road and in 1891 he was arrested and sentenced to four months in prison for
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who wanted to keep the death penalty used
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The 20 April 1900, Nordlund was released from LĂ„ngholmen and with the help of his younger brother, who was now living in
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MÀlaredramat: en sÄngbar berÀttelse om de grÀsliga ogerningarna Ä ÄngbÄten "Prins Carl" (skillingtryck 1905)
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pleading for mercy, which he chose not to do. Strangely enough, he took the time to write a letter to the
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and bought a ticket for
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Be glad that you arrested me here â if I had gotten on the train several more would have been killed
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The next day he was arrested by three police officers at the train station in
Skogstorp near
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Ekholm, Jan Olof; Sperlings, Sven (1979). "Hur jag blifvit den jag Àr, AllmÀnna meningar".
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of several years to come, and reserve a place for him in the criminal history of Sweden.
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On the night of 16 and 17 May 1900 Nordlund committed the act that would make him the
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Anders Gustaf Dalman, skarprÀttaren, föregÄngare och förÀttningar (GO Gunne 1936)
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only argued that it was unfortunate that
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attempted murders and theft. Twice he tried to flee from his cell in
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in 1910) and the last person to be executed through manual
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Nordlund had the possibility of writing a letter to King
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with songs detailing the horrors of the night of 17 May.
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En som borde tagits omhand (Svensk LĂ€raretidning 1900)
585:(in Swedish). Stockholm: Bonnier. pp. 137â174.
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46:but its sources remain unclear because it lacks
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529:using a manual blade, rather much resembling a
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338:Nordlund was born in Ăvre Stubbersbo, near
574:Aftonbladet 20 May 1900, letter to parents
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674:People executed by Sweden by decapitation
77:Learn how and when to remove this message
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397:The mass murder on the steam boat ferry
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583:MÀlarmördaren: historien om ett brott
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16:Swedish mass murderer
664:Massacres in Sweden
297:John Filip Nordlund
165:Cause of death
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352:lumber mill
334:Early years
330:in Sweden.
237:Location(s)
231:17 May 1900
59:introducing
623:Categories
601:Literature
556:guillotine
503:Prins Carl
448:Gothenburg
444:Copenhagen
436:Eskilstuna
419:, several
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123:1875-03-23
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515:Oscar II
497:Several
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425:padlocks
406:bogeyman
348:Hedemora
342:outside
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305:Mordlund
179:Executed
154:VÀsterÄs
562:Sources
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454:" and "
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313:Swedish
270:Weapons
261:Injured
223:Details
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158:Sweden
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360:GĂ€vle
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