When a fire ravaged the old downtown of Umeå in 1888, the rather recently built prison was outside of the burnt area, saving it from destruction. The prison’s archives were also undamaged, and the prison priest’s service diary was recovered. The diary has his notes on activities at the former county jail, an old communal prison located next to the city of Umeå’s first hospital.

This was one of the execution sites in Västerbotten county. At the time the site was a hill, and on the southern slope, executions were carried out after judgements. The last person to be executed on this site was the farmer Johan Natanaelsson from Hössjö, born 10 October 1822 in Stöcke. Han erkände att han ”varit förtretad övfer Svärfadern Olof Olofsson efter Johan Natanaelssons förebärande i huset orsakade gräl och tvistigheter, Olof Olofsson obilliga kraf vid uttagande af den honom tillkommande förgånga och det hinder Olof Olofsson lagt i vägen för Johan Natanaelssons åstundade delaktighet i det hemman hans hustru af sin bemälte fader före äktenskapet inköpt i förening med Olof Olofssons visade missnöje mot den äktenskapliga förening Johan Natanaelsson med Olof Olofssons dotter knutit, redan för längre tid sedan umgåtts med tanken att rödja Svärfadern ur vägen, så hade Johan Natanaelsson Måndagsaftonen den 2 i förliden Augusti månad, då Olof Olofsson väntades åter från en till Nybygget Håknäs företagen utvandring gått honom å en gångstig i förväg, afbidat Olof Olofssons ankomst och vid mötet med Olof Olofsson först tilldelat honom åtskillige slag med yxa för bröstet, så att Olof Olofsson sigit neder, derefter gått ett stycke från honom men, då han märkte att Olof Olofsson ännu hade lif quar, vändt åter och ytterligare slagit Olof Olofsson till dess Johan Natanaelsson ansåg döden vara samma slag en gifven följd samt omsider förfogat sig hem och, ehuru han der märkt att Olof Olofsson egt styrka på omkring 100 alnars afstånd men icke förmåga att dit framkomma och fastän han hört Olof Olofsson våndande icke beredt honom något bistånd utan låtit honom der hjelplös aflida ; och som denna öpna och frvilliga bekännelse finns styrkt af i målet hörde personer som berättat….

Urtima Härads Rätten i stöd af 14 Cap 1§ MB Kongl Förordningen den 10 juni 1841 det skall Johan Natanaelsson för sålunda begångne upsåtligt mord å sin Svärfader Olof Olofsson, sig sjeelf till välförtjent straff och andre till varnagel lif sitt genom halshuggning mista …… ”.

This is an extract from the journal Family no. 2, 2011 and is based on a transcript by Lennart Forsberg for the court documents and the “Hössjö murder of 2 August 1852.” This was thus the last execution carried out in Västerbotten county.

The man who carried out the Härad Court’s ruling was executioner, hangman or masterman Jacob Gyll; it took place on 24 August 1853. The population register of 1834–1841 (AI: 14C, p. 1544) includes parish provost and executioner Jacob Gyll and his family. Next to his wife, Maja Greta Nilsdotter 1783, there is a note that she is near-sighted.

Executioner Jacob Gyll died on 1863-17-16.  The death book lists masterman Jacob Gyll, age 73. His blind wife Maja Greta Nilsdotter died here 4 September 1867, age 84.

The death penalty in Sweden

Until the early 19th century, death was the most common punishment for more severe crimes, because prison was rare. In the law of 1734, the death penalty was the punishment for 68 different crimes. Most death penalties meant beheading, which was done by an acting executioner. Beheading was considered a relatively humane method, with limited suffering, as long as the tool was sufficient and the executioner was skilled enough to succeed on the first attempt.

Jacob Gyll Bila skaft

Jacob Gyll’s axe with initials and owner’s mark. Photo: Västerbotten Museum

Jacob Gyll was an executioner from 1836 to 1863 and worked in Västerbotten, Norrbotten, Västernorrland and Gävleborg counties. There are a number of eyewitness accounts from several executions carried out by Jacob Gyll.

At a double execution on 16 July 1851 at the Njurunda district court area’s execution site, Jacob Gyll was requested from Umeå. Tenant farmer Johan Höglund and crofter Johan Andersson from Årskogen were being executed for murder. For the double execution, Gyll was paid 30 riksdaler banco, shown to him in advance as a receipt. On 28 July, the remaining sum was paid, a total of 128 riksdaler, 15 shillings and 8 rundstycken banco for the deed.

Throughout the 1850s, Gyll was also the head executioner in Västernorrland county.

When a double execution was ordered in Gnarp in 1851, Gyll was described in a note by a farmer as follows “….he was ugly, but he was pleasant to talk to, about 50 years old and dressed in simple homemade attire. His sole characteristic was a small gold ring in his right ear and a bigger one in the left. From this ring hung a small gold axe, as a sign of dignity…”

At an execution in Bureå (Skellefteå Municipality) in the 1830s, it was said that the executioner wore a black cowl over his clothing and small gold earrings in the form of axes.

Like executioners in general, Gyll very much wanted to brace himself somehow and at one execution in Sävar in 1839, the sheriff received a special order from the head officer to “keep a close eye on Gyll, so that he doesn’t have the chance to get drunk.”

A few days before, the execution site would be cleared of trees and shrubs and equipped with a wooden floor and a pillory, as well as a hut for the executioner to hide inside before and between his tasks.

When the execution was to happen, farmers from several villages in the area were encouraged to “stand watch”; they would be equipped with long stakes to prevent anyone unauthorized from passing through the circle of watchmen before the execution was completed and the grave was filled up.

At execution, people flocked in from villages and farms on dozens of kilometres around. The executions were considered to be of great pedagogical importance and that they should be “a warning.”

The death penalty in peacetime was abolished in Sweden on 30 June 1921. The death penalty in wartime was abolished in 1973.

Until the early 19th century, death was the most common punishment for more severe crimes, because prison was rare. In the law of 1734, the death penalty was the punishment for 68 different crimes. Most death penalties meant beheading, which was done by an acting executioner. Beheading was considered a relatively humane method, with limited suffering, as long as the tool was sufficient and the executioner was skilled enough to succeed on the first attempt.

Executioner fees

Dödsstraffet i fredstid avskaffades i Sverige 30 juni 1921. Dödsstraffet i krigstid avskaffades 1973.

(Sammanställt av Lars Beckman 2014.)