The trial of Anders Behring Breivik in Norway is one of those moments in history when all of us have to take a long hard look at what we believe. The "News in Shorts" is no admirer of right-wingers and sees Breivik as an evil individual who's egoism and self-regard seems to be unlimited. Anyone who could kill 77 people in cold blood because he disagrees with them must be either insane or completely evil. The Norweigian courts have found that he is not insane - that he was in full possession of his wits when he committed his crimes. Fair enough - they had much greater access to the facts than this or any other reporter. But, if not insane, then surely that means that Breivik must be a thoroughly evil man? Under those circumstances his sentence of 21 years is incomprehensible. It is even worse when it is entirely plausible that he will be released within ten years having served his time in a three-room suite of rooms "specially tailored for his individual needs." His sentence amounts to less than three-and-a-half months per victim and will be spent in what, to most of us, would be regarded as a comfortable holiday hotel. Maybe the Norweigians are right in that custodial sentences should contain no hint of punishment, but that seems to fly in the face of all common sense. If I were a potential mass murderer I would certainly be on the first aeroplane to Oslo and looking forward to a bit of mayhem as a precurser to a nice restful holiday. The question is, if Breivik is sane is the rest of Norway completely mad?
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