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Maria Rasmussen

Research projects

Publications

A selection from Stockholm University publication database

  • Provocation and Diminished Capacity in Nordic Criminal Law: Two Rationales for Mitigating Crimes of Violence Committed in an Agitated State of Mind

    2023. Maria Rasmussen. Bergen Journal of Criminal Law & Criminal Justice 11 (2), 27-47

    Article

    One of the key distinctions when assessing crimes of violence, such as intentional homicide and assault, is that between acts committed in ‘cold’ and ‘hot blood’. The last term refers to acts committed in an intense emotional state, usually in response to a perceived insult from the victim. In the penal codes of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, mainly two types of mitigating circumstances are associated with these acts. These mitigating circumstances can be referred to as ‘provocation’ and ‘diminished capacity’. In this article, the division between these two types of different provisions is challenged through an analysis of their rationale. Finnish criminal law is presented as an alternative to making the distinction. The article’s analysis highlights the underlying psychological and moral assumptions about emotions and violence on which these provisions on mitigating circumstances are built.

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  • Provokation, affekt och den straffrättsliga värderingen av våldsbrott

    2023. Maria Rasmussen.

    Thesis (Doc)

    The theme of this doctoral thesis is provocation as a mitigating circumstance in assessments of intentional homicide and assault in Swedish criminal law. In several other countries, the question of provocation has been widely debated and scrutinized in the legal literature. However, in Swedish criminal law, provocation – as well as aggravating and mitigating circumstances in general – has not been given much attention.

    The concept of provocation is defined in the thesis as a situation where a person in an agitated state of mind has committed a crime after being wronged by the victim. On the basis of this definition, two provisions of the Swedish Criminal Code in particular are relevant in cases of provocation. One is Chapter 29, Section 3(1) of the Criminal Code, which states as a mitigating circumstance that the act has been provoked by the manifestly insulting conduct of another person. The second provision is Chapter 29, Section 3(2) of the Criminal Code, which provides that where, inter alia, a person, as a result of emotions, had a reduced capacity to control their conduct, this is viewed as a mitigating circumstance. An analysis of these two provisions is the main focus of the thesis. One of the key arguments of the thesis is that both these provisions build upon conceptions of emotions, such as ideas about what anger is and what reactions are understandable for an angry person. In the thesis, these conceptions are contrasted by conceptions of anger in psychological research on emotions, but also by perspectives on societal developments regarding how violence is viewed. Based on this analysis conclusions are drawn regarding the design and application of the provisions. The thesis also discusses the tendency in case law from recent years to view the absence of provocation as an aggravating circumstance.

    Moreover, the thesis examines the relationship between provocation and certain – in various ways related – aggravating circumstances. The aggravating circumstances examined are motives of hate crime and honour according to Chapter 29, Section 2 (7 and 10) of the Criminal Code, and particular and careful planning according to Chapter 3, Section 1 and Chapter 29, Section 2 (6) of the Criminal Code. A starting point of the argumentation is that most aggravating and mitigating factors can exist in the same case, independent of each other, but some factors will overlap. For example, an offence cannot be both premeditated and impulsive at the same time.  In the thesis, conclusions are drawn on whether conflicts of this type exist regarding provocation and the aggravating factors mentioned above.

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  • Om att lära ut vetenskapligt skrivande på juristprogrammet

    2020. Maria Rasmussen. Juridisk publikation (2), 247-259

    Article

    Ett stort fält inom den pedagogiska forskningen är det som kallas för akademisk litteracitet vilket bl.a. handlar om hur studenter lär sig vetenskapligt skrivande. På juristprogrammet pratas mycket om vikten av att kunna skriva bra som yrkesverksam jurist men desto mindre om vad som utmärker en god rättsvetenskaplig text. Denna artikel tar sin utgångspunkt i pedagogisk forskning om akademisk litteracitet och diskuterar några strategier för att lära ut vetenskapligt skrivande på juristprogrammet.

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