Capital punishment in Finland 5720271 185870617 2008-01-21T14:17:28Z 16@r 839108 {{Capital punishment in Europe}} {{capital punishment}} '''Capital punishment in Finland''' (Finnish: ''Kuolemanrangaistus'') has been abolished ''de jure''. From [[1823]] in the [[Grand Duchy of Finland]], death sentences were commuted to banishments to [[Siberia]] or life sentences. In independent [[Finland]], capital punishment for crimes committed in peacetime was abolished by law in [[1949]], and in [[1972]] it was abolished entirely. In addition, the current [[Constitution of Finland]], adopted in [[2000]], specifically prohibits capital punishment. The last person to be executed in peacetime was [[Tahvo Putkonen]], on July 8, [[1825]]. Death sentences were frequently handed down during the [[Finnish Civil War]] of [[1918]]. During the [[Winter War]] and [[Continuation War]], approximately 550 death sentences were carried out. Ninety percent of these were spies and saboteurs. The officer's right to execute soldiers refusing to obey commands or fleeing from combat was exercised only a few times. The most famous case is the execution of [[conscientious objector]] [[Arndt Pekurinen]] in autumn [[1941]], who was also the last Finn ever to be executed for civilian crimes (conscientious objection during wartime was considered [[high treason]]). He was sentenced to death without trial. In the 19th century and before, as in the other Nordic countries, [[beheading]] by axe was the most common method of execution. In the 20th century, [[firing squad]]s were used. {{Capital punishment in Europe}} : ''This article is based on material found in the equivalent Finnish Wikipedia article, [[:fi:Kuolemanrangaistus|Kuolemanrangaistus]].'' [[Category:Finnish law]] [[Category:Capital punishment by country|Finland, capital punishment in]]