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Berit Roald/EPA
Confessed mass killer Anders Behring Breivik, right, gives a relaxed smile moments before prosecutors delivered their closing arguments in the Oslo courthouse, Thursday.
Prosecutors asked a Norwegian court on Thursday to declare far-right mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik insane and commit him to a mental institution.
While not certain that Breivik was not responsible for his actions, they chose to give him the benefit of the doubt in the face of conflicting psychiatric reports, and so to go against the view of most Norwegians that he should go to prison.
"In our opinion, it's worse to send a psychotic person to preventive detention than to send a non-psychotic person to mandatory care," prosecutor Svein Holden told the court.
"We are not convinced that Anders Behring Breivik is legally insane, but we are in doubt. So our petition is for a judgment that he shall be transferred to compulsory mental health care,” he added.
Held indefinitely
If the court agrees with the prosecution's request, Breivik could be held indefinitely, receiving treatment in a secure ward set up in a high-security prison. His presence there would come up for review every three years.
If the court opts for a prison term instead, prosecutors said their preference would be the maximum sentence of 21 years. A sentence can be extended beyond that if a prisoner is considered a menace to society, The Associated Press reported.
Norway prison seeks 'friends' to play hockey, chess with mass killer Breivik
Three out of four Norwegians consider Breivik sane enough for a jail term, according to a poll carried out for the public broadcaster NRK. Many find it hard to understand how someone could be insane and yet spend years planning such a spectacular attack so meticulously.
A pre-trial psychiatric report that found him to be insane created such an outcry that the court ordered another one, which came to the opposite conclusion.
Breivik: I'm sane
Breivik admits to killing 77 people in twin attacks last July, most of them teenagers at a Labour Party summer camp.
He says he should be declared sane, but acquitted on grounds that he was defending the Norwegian people by fighting the supporters of Muslim immigration.
If the court finds him to have been insane, he has said that it will be "worse than death", and he will appeal.
Earlier in the trial, Breivik said the psychiatric dimension of the case was a way for Norwegian authorities to ridicule him and divert attention from his ideology.
Tears as victim's brother throws shoe at Norway mass killer Anders Breivik
Breivik claims Norway and Europe are being colonized by Muslims, who make up about 2 percent of Norway's population.
He first detonated a bomb outside government headquarters in Oslo to create a diversion, then systematically gunned down 69 people, mostly teenagers, at a summer camp run by the ruling Labour Party on the island of Utoeya.
"What is most incomprehensible is how unaffected he was by his acts," prosecutor Inga Bejer Engh said. "He described without remorse or feeling how these young people begged for their lives, and how he shot them in the head to make sure they were dead."
The trial ends with closing defense arguments on Friday. The two professional and three lay judges are due to reach a verdict by August 24.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Leave a Comment:
Lock him up...put a rope, knife, razor blades and plastic bag in there with him!
Dude, he doesn't want to die, he wants to kill. Best to rule him crazy like he doesn't want and keep him in the padded cell till he dies.
If he goes to prison he could potentially be let out. Ill agree with house on this one.
of course he is nuts; it does not take Sigmund Freud, to figure that he is not sane, he even has no remorse for what he has done.
Did I misunderstand the article that his prison sentence would be 21 years? Is that per murder count or total because as I read it, it sounded like 21 years for 77 murders.
Under Norwegian law "Planned murder is punished with up to 21 years of imprisonment, regardless of the number of murder victims. Under special circumstances, like a murder of severe cruelty, mass murder, or if there is reason to believe the offender may commit murder again, additional years of imprisonment can be given. This is known as custody. This usually takes place at a court hearing near the end of the sentence." - Wikipedia
You did read correctly. That is the maximum. It doesn't sound like much but it works for that country.
Personally it sounds more like delusion + a personality disorder than criminal insanity but since a psychiatric ward in a maximum security prison where he will probably be stuck for the rest of his life honestly sounds like a better punishment than prison in this case so I say go for it.
It comes up for review in 21 years. A person deemed a menace to society can be held indefinitely. What do you think this guy is?
that s right, if he is really insane he will use that razor, knife, blade.. he will do us a big favor.
or put someone who s really insane to do it for him.
This guy had everything pre plan & well organized from A TO Z how can you be insane or claim insanity!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No good, he wants to kill, not die
Big red truck, of course he is insane, no sane person would do something like this, but he doesn't treatment he needs shot.
destructive, remorseless, egotistical. He should be a banker, they get away with it.
" A sentence can be extended beyond that if a prisoner is considered a menace to society, "
This is correct, but this procedure can also be repeated indefinitely. In other words, he will be in prison for the rest of his life.
Breivik: "I'm sane"
thats enough evidence for me that hes not sane. He wants to go to prison so he can attempt to continue his viciousness. Deny him that and dope him up in a rubber room.
It will torture him more to be declared insane; which any sane person can tell he is....
No Mom, he planned this act and executed it(no pun intended) with deadly precision. Not insane.
If I were the victims families, I would be looking for blood.
I'm curious to see how the Norwegian courts handle this.
Don't confuse insane with inept. Many insane people are capable of doing very careful, detailed planning.
Frank, I have to agree with Baja. Insane doesn't mean babbling, incoherent or stupid. You can be highly intelligent and organized, but still be bat sh*t crazy.
He is just like Charlie Manson...
Since Norway is incapable of punishing Mass Murderers with their "he must be insane crap". Please do the rest of the World a favor and keep him inside your borders.
". . . If the court opts for a prison term instead, prosecutors said their preference would be the maximum sentence of 21 years." . . . WTF?! Only 21 years for killing 77 kids?
its called psychopathic deviance or moral insanity. Pritchard (actually coined the term) and Pinel (both mental illness physicians) in the 18Th century used the term to describe a type of insanity without delusion or hallucination, without mental impairment, but insanity in a very specific area non-the-less. this all came about because Pinel was asked to investigate the murder of a servant who was whipped to death by a noble, in France. pinel was struck by the absolute unconcern of the noble involved and eventually came to the conclusion that it was moral insanity.
He seems sane to me. He came up with a plan, executed it, and has since acted very deliberately in court. Sure, he's a murderer, but he never had any delusions about what he was doing.
Sure he did - he thought he was doing something patriotic.
Norway's sitting around trying to determine if he's crazy? Ya think!
He would only get 21 years for murdering 77 people, so who is insame?
They have that covered. Their loophole is that they can keep someone indefinitely if they are considered a danger to society. You think they'd ever think this guy is safe to let out?
was the prosecutors smilling when they asked the Norwegian court on Thursday to declare far-right mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik insane and commit him to a mental institution?
They should also check in to a mental institution!
This why I love extremest countries like Iran, Pakistan, Arabia etc... they dont mess with murders? they killed them on the spot. Problem solved next?
He's nuts. Off him!
Thats my nigga, true born killer. Fear him for he is not bound by the same parameters that regular people are governed by.
those who exhault themselves will be humbled...those who are humble shall be be exhaulted...fear not he who can only kill the body but he who can kill the body and soul in HELL FOR ETERNITY.
brave men will find that they are cowards, beautiful people will find that they are ugly, brilliant people will go stark, raving mad...
the chaos mirror...when a person sees themselves through the eyes of God instead of the eyes they give for others to see themselves with
...if he were a real killer...he would have known (and been capable) of keeping his ******* mouth shut...
only an insecure, scared, little, ***** goes around telling people to be proud of being a murderer
one who cause fear in others is one who is afraid of them! ******!!!
those who exhault themselves will be humbled...those who are humble shall be be exhaulted...fear not he who can only kill the body but he who can kill the body and soul in HELL FOR ETERNITY.
brave men will find that they are cowards, beautiful people will find that they are ugly, brilliant people will go stark, raving mad...
the chaos mirror...when a person sees themselves through the eyes of God instead of the eyes they give for others to see themselves with
...if he were a real killer...he would have known (and been capable) of keeping his mouth shut...
only an insecure, scared, little, {} goes around telling people to be proud of being a murderer
one who causes fear in others is one who is afraid of them! {}!!!
Whoever does not sentence this man to death.....Well, THEIR INSANE!!!!
It sounds like the prosecution is trying whatever tactic will keep him locked up longer. With a prison sentence, he's technically done after 21 years. Granted, they cover their butts in Norway by legally being allowed to detain a person after their sentence if they are deemed a danger to society, which clearly, this guy would be. But with an insanity call, they get to keep him indefinitely right off the bat. Sure, there's a review process every few years, but like he'd ever pass a review. At least I would hope that some idiot wouldn't think a because he's doped up and answering the questions the way they want them answered equals safe for release. Plus, declaring him insane would drive him nuts. So, win-win. They just need to make sure he has no contact with the outside world either - no internet and whanot. He'd only plot something from there with someone on the outside.
Great. Give him an out. This man is not insane. He is perfectly sane. He knew exactly what he was doing. He knew what the consequences would be if he was caught. He is aware of his actions. He also has the ability to choose to act in the way he did. People like to lable monsters like him insane. Its human nature because we have to have a reason why someone would do something like this. He didnt just walk out with a gun one day and start shooting because the voices told him too. He planned it. Thought it out. By declaring him insane that means at some point he will be deemed able to return to society. Then he will do it again. I have worked in mental health for damn near 20 years now. As time passes he will get out. Do not put him in a mental hospital. Throw his ass in jail. Put him in general population. Maximum security lock down. He is a cold and calculating monster. Throw out all this huggy feely coddle crap and stick him in a hole and slam the lid shut.
So give him a single bullet. Left of center. 1.5 inches up from the Xiphoid process.