Christer Pettersson

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Charge:	Murder
Sentence:	Life Imprisonment
Years Imprisoned:	0.83
Year Crime:	1986
Year Convicted:	1989
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:	"Christer Pettersson was wrongly convicted in July 1989 of murdering Sweden's Prime Minister Olof Palme on February 28, 1986 as he was walking with his wife in Stockholm, Sweden. The prosecution's case was based on Mrs. Palme's eyewitness identification of Pettersson. Pettersson was sentenced to life in prison. Pettersson's conviction was overturned on October 13, 1989, by an appeals court on the basis of insufficient evidence he committed the crime. He was released the next day. Pettersson was incarcerated for 10 months from the time of his arrest. He was compensated by the Swedish government with a government pension under a program known as "early retirement" that was normally awarded to people unable to work."
Conviction Caused By:	Mistaken identification by the wife of the victim.
Innocence Proved By:	"Pettersson's conviction was overturned on October 13, 1989, by an appeals court on the basis of insufficient evidence he committed the crime."
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:	Yes
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	41
Age When Released:	42
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:
Information Source 1:	"Assassination Conviction Overturned in Sweden, By Arthur Max (AP writer), Harlan Daily Enterprise, October 14, 1989"
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Christer Pettersson

Charge:

Murder

Sentence:

Life Imprisonment

Years Imprisoned:

0.83

Year Crime:

1986

Year Convicted:

1989

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:

Mistaken identification by the wife of the victim.

Innocence Proved By:

"Pettersson's conviction was overturned on October 13, 1989, by an appeals court on the basis of insufficient evidence he committed the crime."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Yes

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

41

Age When Released:

42

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Information Source 1:

"Assassination Conviction Overturned in Sweden, By Arthur Max (AP writer), Harlan Daily Enterprise, October 14, 1989"

Information Location 1:

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Book About Case:

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Book About Case (2):

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Movie About Case:

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