The exceptional story of life imprisonment in Norway: from abolition to indefinite preventive detention
This article examines how life imprisonment was introduced, implemented and then ultimately abolished in Norway, with little controversy or debate, in 1981. We place this story of life imprisonment within the context of broader theoretical and empirical debates on Nordic penal exceptionalism and the...
| Authors: | ; ; |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2025
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| In: |
European journal of criminology
Year: 2025, Volume: 22, Issue: 6, Pages: 901-923 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Keywords: |
| Summary: | This article examines how life imprisonment was introduced, implemented and then ultimately abolished in Norway, with little controversy or debate, in 1981. We place this story of life imprisonment within the context of broader theoretical and empirical debates on Nordic penal exceptionalism and the abolition of life sentences, both nationally and internationally. The article is the first to engage theoretically with how two forms of exceptionalism can combine to obscure harsher policies and practices. Specifically, it highlights how praise for penal exceptionalism may align with a ‘global champion’ exceptionalism rooted in Norway's self-image as a stronghold of social democracy and welfare. In the broader context of punitive policy discussions across many Western jurisdictions, the abolition of life sentences without provoking tabloid hysteria stands out as a notable example of penal exceptionalism. Yet when analysed in the context of an evolving punitive geography, a more complex narrative emerges. Norway might have abolished formal life sentences, but its growing population of people serving indefinite post-conviction detention indicates that it now relies on a type of informal life imprisonment as its ultimate penalty. |
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| Item Description: | Literaturverzeichnis: Seite 919-923 |
| Physical Description: | Illustrationen |
| ISSN: | 1741-2609 |
| DOI: | 10.1177/14773708251317626 |
