Swedish cop killer fails in bid to reduce sentence

Olsson, who received a life sentence for the murder of two policemen in 1999, in what still remains one of Sweden’s most notorious cases, was hoping to have a maximum tariff imposed on the sentence with a possible date for parole. Judicial authorities in Örebro however threw out the appeal, due to his continued bad behaviour in prison and the high risk of him re offending.

Olsson, who has changed his surname to Byström, claimed that he is a reformed character and much better behaved since his escape from Hall in 2004. He has now served 12 years, the minimum amount to be considered for parole.

He gained notoriety in 1999 after a bank robbery in Malexander with Andreas Axelsson and Jackie Arklöv went wrong and ended up in with the execution of two policemen, Olle Borén and Robert Karlström.

Axelsson and Arklöv were soon arrested, but Olsson fled the country, first to Germany then on to Costa Rica where he was eventually caught and extradited back to Sweden where he began his life sentence.

On July 28th 2004 he dramatically escaped from the Hall Institution, but was recaptured two days later. This, he claims, turned out to be his redemption, and he has since taken part in psychological studies and programmes designed to helped rehabilitate offenders and ease them back into society.

Although the court heard that Olsson’s behaviour has improved in recent years, he was adjudged to still represent too high a risk of re-offending for them to consider setting a maximum term on his sentence.