Stockholm university

Sara Hellqvist Bailey

Teaching

Introduction to scientific method, introduction to criminology

Research

Research area: Wrongful convictions and the criminal conviction review process

Offenders who consider themselves as wrongfully convicted can file a petition for review. If the application is granted and the conviction is overturned, it is possible for the applicant to get a more lenient punishment or to be exonerated. Conversely, there is also a procedure for the opposite situation. A criminal case can be reopened and a defendant who previously had been found not guilty can be tried for the same offence again.

The purpose of the dissertation is to examine different aspects of revision in criminal cases and to study the review process both from broad and in-depth perspectives. Sweden is also examined in the context of other nations’ conviction review systems. The research questions are answered within an interdisciplinary framework where the criminological approach also includes features of e.g. law, sociology of law, and psychology.

 

Publications

Hellqvist, S. (2021). Access to Justice for Wrongful Conviction Claimants in Sweden Nordic Journal of Human Rights 39 (3), 320-338.

Hellqvist, S. (2019). Vad står på spel när rättsväsendet gör fel? Några perspektiv på offerskapande inom forskningsfältet ”the victimology of wrongful convictions” Att odla kriminologi, 101-113.

Hellqvist, S. (2017). The Narrow Road to Exoneration - the Incidence, Characteristics and Outcomes of Wrongful Conviction Claims in Sweden over a One-Year Period Bergen Journal of Criminal Law & Criminal Justice 5 (2), 131-153.

Sundling, C., Nilsson, M., Hellqvist, S., Pendrill, L. R., R, E., & Berglund, B. (2015). Travel behaviour change in old age: the role of critical incidents in public transport. European Journal of Aging.

Hellqvist, S. (2015). Felaktiga domar och resning i brottmål – ett resningsinstitut för vem? Paper presented at The Scandinavian Research Council for Criminology (NSfK), Stavern, Norway, May 2015.

Hellqvist, S. (2014). Sociala insatsgrupper i Huddinge kommun. Utvärdering av ett projekt riktat mot unga i riskzon för en kriminell livsstil. FoU Södertörns skriftserie nr 131/14.

Research projects

Publications

A selection from Stockholm University publication database

  • Access to Justice for Wrongful Conviction Claimants in Sweden

    2021. Sara Hellqvist. Nordic Journal of Human Rights 39 (3), 320-338

    Article

    Although there is no common right to contest convictions in Europe, the prevention of miscarriages of justice plays a central part within the European legal framework and the formulation of human rights, and scholars have described the conviction of innocents as one of the biggest justice gaps in contemporary society. However, little attention has been focused on directing a critical gaze at the legal path individuals are obliged to take towards possible exoneration, i.e. the post-conviction review process. Drawing on legal claims relating to potentially wrongful convictions in Sweden, the aim of this article is to examine the accessibility of this remedy. The findings were studied through the lens of access-to-justice theory and illustrate the difficulties these persons have formulating a satisfactory application unless they receive legal support. This suggests that, in practice, having access to the review remedy is in many cases equivalent to having access to legal assistance. Yet convicted persons are generally not entitled to any legal support once the appellate procedure has come to an end. The worst-case scenario is that a lack of resources may result in potentially innocent persons remaining convicted for crimes they have not committed.

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  • The Narrow Road to Exoneration - the Incidence, Characteristics and Outcomes of Wrongful Conviction Claims in Sweden over a One-Year Period

    2017. Sara Hellqvist. Bergen Journal of Criminal Law & Criminal Justice 5 (2), 131-153

    Article

    One way of investigating the phenomenon of wrongful convictions is to study the road to exoneration. In some respects, the post-conviction review process lies at the heart of the wrongful conviction issue, since this is where alleged miscarriages of justice are either acknowledged or rejected. However, the number and characteristics of the criminal cases that pass through the Swedish post-conviction review process are unknown. Against this background, the overarching objective of the present article is to provide an empirical basis for an informed discussion of wrongful convictions. More specifically, this article examines wrongful conviction claims and the judicial outcomes of these claims over a one-year period. The findings are discussed in relation to the view that the operation of the post-conviction process may be understood as a means by which the legal system may preserve its legitimacy. It is also discussed why there is a need for more transparency in this particular part of the criminal justice system.

    Read more about The Narrow Road to Exoneration - the Incidence, Characteristics and Outcomes of Wrongful Conviction Claims in Sweden over a One-Year Period
  • Travel behaviour change in old age

    2016. Catherine Sundling (et al.). European Journal of Ageing 13 (1), 75-83

    Article

    Older people’s travel behaviour is affected by negative or positive critical incidents in the public transport environment. With the objective of identifying such incidents during whole trips and examining how travel behaviour had changed, we have conducted in-depth interviews with 30 participants aged 65–91 years in the County of Stockholm, Sweden. Out of 469 incidents identified, 77 were reported to have resulted in travel behaviour change, 67 of them in a negative way. Most critical incidents were encountered in the physical environment on-board vehicles and at stations/stops as well as in pricing/ticketing. The findings show that more personal assistance, better driving behaviour, and swift maintenance of elevators and escalators are key facilitators that would improve predictability in travelling and enhance vulnerable older travellers’ feeling of security. The results demonstrate the benefit of involving different groups of end users in future planning and design, such that transport systems would meet the various needs of its end users.

    Read more about Travel behaviour change in old age

Show all publications by Sara Hellqvist Bailey at Stockholm University