Wat Dis?
-
https://kdvr.com/news/norway-mass-murderer-breivik-tests-limits-of-lenient-justice-system/
Convicted mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik spends his days in a spacious three-room cell, playing video games, exercising, watching TV, and taking university-level courses in mathematics and business.
Halfway through a 21-year sentence and seeking early release, Breivik, 42, is being treated in a way that might seem shocking to people outside of Norway, where he killed eight in an Oslo bombing in 2011, and then stalked and gunned down 69 people, mostly teens, at a summer camp.
But here — no matter how wicked the crime — convicts benefit from a criminal justice system that is designed to offer prisoners some of the comforts and opportunities of life on the outside.
Still, Breivik’s extreme case is testing the limits of Norway’s commitment to tolerance and rehabilitation.
“We have never had anyone in Norway who has been responsible for this level of violence before. And there has been debate here about whether part of the justice system should be changed for someone like him,” said Erik Kursetgjerde, who survived the slaughter on Utoya island as an 18-year-old. However, he advises a slow approach that does not bend to Breivik’s desire to subvert the system.
During a three-day parole hearing this week that was broadcast to journalists, Breivik renounced violence, but also flashed a Nazi salute and espoused white supremacy, echoing ideas in a manifesto he released at the time of his killing spree. The outburst was familiar to Norwegians who had watched him deliver rambling diatribes during his partially televised criminal trial.
“Obviously this has been extremely trying for survivors, the bereaved and Norwegian society as a whole,” said Kristin Bergtora Sandvik, professor of law at the University of Oslo, adding that there is debate in Norway over whether parole regulations should be overhauled in a bid to prevent this type of grandstanding.
In 2016, Breivik successfully sued the Norwegian government for human rights abuses, complaining about his isolation from other prisoners, frequent strip searches, and the fact that he was often handcuffed during the early part of his incarceration. He also complained about the quality of the prison food, having to eat with plastic utensils, and not being able to communicate with sympathizers.
While Breivik’s human rights case was ultimately overturned by a higher court, the episode showed just how far the Norwegian criminal justice system could bend in favor of prisoners’ rights and living conditions.
Plastic "silverware?"
The horror!
-
No reason he should ever walk free.
Agreed.
If you're interested, read "Catch Me If You Can" by Frank Abagnale. He talks about Scandinavian (specifically Swedish, iirc) prisons vs others in which he was incarcerated.
I read this about 15 years ago, and if memory serves, he was liable to extradited from a Swedish prison (where life was good) to an Italian prison, where it was (cough) not quite as good.
He was able to swing a "persona non grata" declaration from the Sweded, necessitating his transfer to a US prison, which he considered far preferable to an Italian one.
