Carl Gustaf Christer Pettersson

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Charge:	Murder
Sentence:	Life imprisonment
Years Imprisoned:	3
Year Crime:	1986
Year Convicted:	1988
Year Cleared:	1989
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Sweden
County or Region of Crime:
City of Crime:	Stockholm
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Carl Gustaf Christer Pettersson (aka Christer Pettersson) was wrongly convicted in 1988 of the murder of Sweden's Prime Minister Olof Palme on February 28, 1986 in Stockholm, Sweden. Palme was shot to death on one of Stockholm's main avenues as he was walking home from the cinema with his wife, Lisbet Palme. The prosecution's case was based on Pettersson's identification by Lisbet from a police lineup that she saw him staring at her a few feet from her where her husband fell. She did not say she saw him shoot Olof or that he had a pistol in his hand. The murder weapon --- a .357-caliber Magnum pistol -- was never found. Pettersson insisted on his innocence. After his conviction he was sentenced in July 1989 to life in prison. Pettersson appealed. On October 8, 1989 Sweden's Appeals Court acquitted Pettersson on the basis the prosecution presented insufficient credible evidence to prove his guilt. The appeals court cited the lack of evidence that included no motive, the missing murder weapon, no one saw him shoot Olof, and it questioned the reliability of Lisbet Palme's identification that she saw him standing near the shooting. Pettersson was released from prison. He sued for wrongful imprisonment and defamation by the police, and was awarded about $50,000 in compensation. In May 1998 Sweden's Supreme Court ruled against the proseuction's appeal to retry Pettersson, citing the alleged new evidence was "not of such nature that a new trial can be granted in the case.""
Conviction Caused By:
Innocence Proved By:	In 1989 Sweden's Appeals Court acquitted Pettersson on the basis the prosecution presented insufficient credible evidence to prove his guilt.
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:	"$50,000 (Sweden)"
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	39
Age When Released:	42
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	"Christer Pettersson, Wikipedia.org"
Information Location 1:	https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christer_Pettersson
Information Source 2:	"Conviction of Palme Suspect Is Overturned, By Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, Oct. 13, 1989"
Information Location 2:	https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-10-13-mn-162-story.html
Information Source 3:	"Court Nixes Palme Killing Retrial, By Associated Press, apnews.com, May 28, 1998"
Information Location 3:	https://apnews.com/e1ecc8445a1f2e34e9e41908e632ec3a
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Carl Gustaf Christer Pettersson

Charge:

Murder

Sentence:

Life imprisonment

Years Imprisoned:

3

Year Crime:

1986

Year Convicted:

1988

Year Cleared:

1989

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Sweden

County or Region of Crime:

City of Crime:

Stockholm

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

In 1989 Sweden's Appeals Court acquitted Pettersson on the basis the prosecution presented insufficient credible evidence to prove his guilt.

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

"$50,000 (Sweden)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

39

Age When Released:

42

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"Christer Pettersson, Wikipedia.org"

Information Location 1:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christer_Pettersson

Information Source 2:

"Conviction of Palme Suspect Is Overturned, By Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, Oct. 13, 1989"

Information Location 2:

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-10-13-mn-162-story.html

Information Source 3:

"Court Nixes Palme Killing Retrial, By Associated Press, apnews.com, May 28, 1998"

Information Location 3:

https://apnews.com/e1ecc8445a1f2e34e9e41908e632ec3a

Information Source 4:

Information Location 4:

Information Source 5:

Information Location 5:

Book About Case:

Book Information:

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Book Information (2):

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