Anna Månsdotters execution.

August 7th 1890 she became the last woman to be executed in Sweden. She was convicted of killing her son Per’s wife Hanna Johansdotter (Per was also involved in the murder) by strangling her to death and making it look like she fell down the stairs breaking her neck. Her masterplan failed, however, and she was caught and on August 7th 1890 e.v. she met her end in the form of executioner Dahlman. In the upper picture you can see Dahlman standing to the left in the back hiding the axe behind his back. And the lower picture shows him raising his axe moments before chopping her head off.

The picture to the left shows Anna in the prime of her life and the picture to the right displays the “death mask” casting of her face after her execution. Apparently Dahlman wasn’t that good at aiming because the cut hit her more in the middle of the head than in the neck with the result of the jaw and parts of the tongue still being attached to the body.