Lauri Moilanen

I study homicides committed in early modern Finland where the motive was to obtain the death penalty. My dissertation monograph is entitled "Suicidal murder as a criminal, social and cultural phenomenon in early modern Finland". My research draws on perspectives from historical criminology, social history and cultural history. I have particular expertise in palaeography, especially as it relates to early modern Swedish legal history. There has not been previous research on my subject in Finland, and little elsewhere in the world, although interest in the subject has recently grown in many countries. My research provides new insights, especially into the history of crime and justice, but also into the social history of the early modern period, and especially into the history of mental health and deviance. My doctoral project will result in an open access monograph in English and two additional academic papers in Finnish by the end of 2025.