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Sunday, July 24, 2011

Justice?

Just read that Norway has a maximum penalty -- for any crime -- of 21 years in prison. That means that for each of the 93 people he killed, Anders Behring Bleivik will spend a maximum of about ten weeks in prison.

Here's another way to look at it. When an older person is killed, fewer years are being stolen from him. But almost all of Bleivik's victims were very young, mostly teenagers just starting out on their lives. And their grieving parents, brothers, sisters, and grandparents will have to live with that loss for the rest of their lives.

So for each of those young people who had maybe six decades stolen from them, and for each of their families whose lives have been torn asunder, Bleivik will pay a penalty of roughly ten weeks.

Bleivik was right about one thing: Norway is far too liberal.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

93 21 year sentences to run successively.
G

Anonymous said...

Nah, 1,953 years is still too lenient.
G

John Craig said...

G -- Can they do that?

Anonymous said...

I don't know. I read about the maximum 21 years, but it seemed a little hazy as to whether it is maximum incarceration period, or maximum sentence. There are jurisdictions in which judges can require that sentences run successively, but again I have no idea what the Norwegian rules may be. As you say, only 21 years for these crimes would not be regarded as any kind of justice by most. There are certainly precedents for judicial decisions on mass murder that were a gross affront to the victims and their families. The UK public were dumbfounded at the decision to release the "Lockerbie bomber".
G

John Craig said...

G --
My guess is, that's the maximum sentence; at least that's the impression I got from reading that article.

What I remember having heard regarding that Lockerbie bomber was that it had something to do with BP wanting some kind of oil rights in Libya.