Sweden's justice minister has ordered a structural review to find out how the judiciary first felled then cleared "serial killer" Thomas Quick of eight murders, in the landmark legal case which took a final twist on Wednesday.
"It's a very unique decision," Justice Minister Beatrice Ask said upon news that the Swedish prosecutor's office had decided to drop the eighth and final murder charge against Thomas Quick, who nowadays goes under the name Sture Bergwall.
"It is rare in Swedish judiciary history and it is serious that someone has been convicted of so many serious crimes and then been cleared," she told the TT news agency.
Her ministry has set about trying to find how the two-decade long drama came about. Her staff are looking at drafting directives on to structure a proper review of the case.
"The review will investigate partly how the judiciary acted, and partly whether there are structural weaknesses," Ask said.
She reiterated the chief prosecutor's view that it would probably be impossible to hold a single person accountable for the palaver.
"We don't have reviews that aim to judge people. We have rules, we have statutes of limitations. We have to keep to basic principles about how to find out whether people have acted correctly or incorrectly," Ask said.
TT/The Local
Sweden drops final 'serial killer' murder charge
Swedish prosecutors have discarded the eighth and final murder charge against the self-confessed serial killer and cannibal Thomas Quick, who in 2008 recanted his alleged participation in a series of brutal killings.
The final murder charge concerned the 1976 disappearance of Charles Zelmanovits. Quick, who now goes by the name Sture Bergwall, confessed to the murder along with seven other suspicious deaths.
"The guilty verdict was based on the confession of Bergwall and him wanted to be convicted," chief prosecutor Håkan Nyman told the TT news agency on Wednesday as news of the discarded charge broke.
There was no forensic evidence to tie Bergwall to 15-year-old Zelmanovits' death, but he was convicted of murder in 1994. Zelmanovits' remains were not found until 1993, with Bergwall confessing to the crime the following spring.
FOR MORE BACKGROUND: The brutal confessions of a 'serial killer' that injured Sweden's justice system
The prosecutor who demanded that Sweden's justice system revisit the case has long been convinced that the young boy died of exposure.
"He was drunk, he got lost, and he froze to death. It was more or less completely open terrain and it started to snow," Bengt Landahl told TT earlier this year. "It was -10C and he was only wearing low shoes, a short jacket, and no hat."
Read what Sturewall wrote on his blog after the verdict
"The guilty verdict was based on the confession of Bergwall and him wanted to be convicted," chief prosecutor Håkan Nyman told the TT news agency on Wednesday as news of the discarded charge broke.
There was no forensic evidence to tie Bergwall to 15-year-old Zelmanovits' death, but he was convicted of murder in 1994. Zelmanovits' remains were not found until 1993, with Bergwall confessing to the crime the following spring.
FOR MORE BACKGROUND: The brutal confessions of a 'serial killer' that injured Sweden's justice system
The prosecutor who demanded that Sweden's justice system revisit the case has long been convinced that the young boy died of exposure.
"He was drunk, he got lost, and he froze to death. It was more or less completely open terrain and it started to snow," Bengt Landahl told TT earlier this year. "It was -10C and he was only wearing low shoes, a short jacket, and no hat."
Read what Sturewall wrote on his blog after the verdict
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