Breivik

New York Times:

The Anders Breivik trial started in Oslo on Monday. Mr. Breivik, the self-described commander of the Norwegian Resistance Movement, has admitted to killing 77 people in a rampage last July, but according to the story in today’s Times has “denied criminal responsibility on the grounds that he was protecting Norway from Islamic immigration.”


If the court finds him insane, Mr. Breivik will be kept under forced psychiatric care “for as long as his illness persists” (possibly the rest of his life). Otherwise, Mr. Breivik’s maximum sentence will be 21 years, although a judge can extend his incarceration after that point if he’s still considered dangerous.

By American standards that’s a shockingly lenient punishment. Comparing one high-profile case with another—if a Florida jury finds George Zimmerman guilty of second-degree murder in the shooting of Trayvon Martin, he’ll face a maximum sentence of life in prison, and a minimum penalty of 25 years.

The American system, oriented around punishment (vengeance) and containment (keeping dangerous people off the streets), is arguably more satisfying for a crime like Mr. Breivik’s. But outside of worst-of-the-worst type cases, it’s Norway, with its focus on rehabilitation, that has the more rational and effective prison policy.

Our prisons are degrading and dangerous. A 2005 commission found that more than a million people had been sexually assaulted in prisons over a twenty-year period. They’re also overcrowded, which is hardly surprising since America has 751 prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants, or roughly 2.3 million people behind bars, more than any other country. Harsh conditions don’t seem to deter criminals, or prevent recidivism. Nearly 60 percent of former convicts end up back in jail after two years.

Norway has 71 prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants, with prisons that resemble “college dorm[s],” according to a Daily Beast article from last year. A maximum-security facility for murderers and rapists close to the Swedish border has “mint-green walls and IKEA-style furniture in varnished natural wood…Each cell comes with a flat-screen TV, a private bath, and a large unbarred window.” Seems like a waste of money. And yet these cushy accommodations don’t attract repeat visitors. Only 20 percent of former convicts end up back in jail after two years.

I can hear people saying, what has Norway got to do with anything? It’s a small country with a historically low crime rate. That’s true. But it’s worth noting that America’s vastly greater experience with crime has not made us any better at dealing with it. /New York Times