Judge: Breivik is not insane

[Lord Zentei]

(CNN) -- There is no reason to believe that Norway mass murder suspect Anders Behring Breivik is insane, District Court Judge Torkjel Nesheim said Monday.

There is also no evidence he had accomplices in the bomb and gun rampage in which he is accused of killing 77 people this summer, the judge said.

The judge ordered him held in custody for a further 12 weeks, with visits and correspondence controlled by the authorities for the first eight, and a ban on media for the first four.

More than 500 people packed into a court in Oslo, Norway, to see the suspect's first public appearance, said Irene Ramm, head of press for the Oslo court.

A woman whose daughter was killed in the massacre said she could not understand "how a human being could do something like that."

"That's why I had to be here today. I don't understand, so I had to see, had to be here," said the woman, who was identified only as "Carina" on Norway's TV2. "He looked cold, completely cold," she said.

He was not allowed to deliver a speech he had prepared, the station reported.

Breivik said he did not recognize the authority of the court on the grounds that he opposes the multi-cultural society it is part of, TV2 said.

He was stopped on several occasions when he started referring to himself as Commander of the Knights Templar, a title he used in his 1,500-page manifesto, the station reported.

"I interrupted Breivik during today's hearing because I only wanted to hear him about matters relating to today's hearing," Judge Nesheim said. "This was not the main trial where he gets to explain himself. I did not want to give him the opportunity to use this hearing as a platform for him to express his views."

Until now, the proceedings for Breivik have been held behind closed doors.

The hearing was to determine whether to keep Breivik in jail until his trial in the spring. Prosecutors expect it to begin in March or April, the judge said.

Survivors return to scene of island rampage

He is accused of killing dozens of people in a bomb attack in Oslo followed by a shooting rampage on nearby Utoya island. Eight people were killed in a bombing in Oslo; 69 young people were killed on Utoya island, in the deadliest attack in Norway since World War II.

The young people were attending a Labour Party youth camp. Most of the 700 campers ranged in age from 16-22, with some as young as 13.

Breivik has pleaded not guilty but admits carrying out the attacks, the judge said.

"The accused is still suspected on probable cause of criminal acts, as described in the charges. He has admitted the bombing in central Oslo and also the shooting on Utoya. The investigation has also confirmed this," Nesheim said.

He is described by authorities as a right-wing Christian extremist. The 1,500-page manifesto attributed to Breivik was posted on the Internet and is critical of Muslim immigration and European liberalism.

[Todeswind]

No reason? No reason ? The man went postal and killed 77 people, including children, in brutal and violent ways.... how much more of a reason does one need before someone is declared non compos mentis? I'll admit that the fields of psychology and neurology aren't my area of expertise by a long shot, but it seems incongruous that spontaneous mass murder isn't covered in the DSM.

[Ryan Thunder]

No reason? No reason ? The man went postal and killed 77 people, including children, in brutal and violent ways.... how much more of a reason does one need before someone is declared non compos mentis? I'll admit that the fields of psychology and neurology aren't my area of expertise by a long shot, but it seems incongruous that spontaneous mass murder isn't covered in the DSM.

The obvious conclusion is that he's just evil. Is that invalid?

Though considering that he referred to himself as "Commander of the Knights Templar", well... yeah.

[phongn]

No reason? No reason ? The man went postal and killed 77 people, including children, in brutal and violent ways.... how much more of a reason does one need before someone is declared non compos mentis? I'll admit that the fields of psychology and neurology aren't my area of expertise by a long shot, but it seems incongruous that spontaneous mass murder isn't covered in the DSM.

It wasn't spontaneous; Brevik meticulously and carefully planned this rampage over the period of years.

[evilsoup]

Over here 'insane' is a legal definition that is only tangentially linked to actual mental health diagnoses. IIRC it's to do with having the ability to judge right and wrong - if you don't have that ability (or didn't at the time of the crime) then you are declared 'insane' (or 'temporarily insane'). So you can have serious mental health disorders and still be considered 'sane' as far as being tried is concerned ... though of course some things like severe schizophrenia would probably get you declared insane. I assume it's similar in Sweden.

In Breivik's case, he knew that murder was wrong in general, but for a (deluded) political cause he was willing to commit these murders. So he's not insane, just a criminal with a weird cause.

[Spoonist]

No reason? No reason ? The man went postal and killed 77 people, including children, in brutal and violent ways.... how much more of a reason does one need before someone is declared non compos mentis? I'll admit that the fields of psychology and neurology aren't my area of expertise by a long shot, but it seems incongruous that spontaneous mass murder isn't covered in the DSM.

The obvious conclusion is that he's just evil. Is that invalid?

Though considering that he referred to himself as "Commander of the Knights Templar", well... yeah.

Neither sociapathy nor deluded is categorized within an insanity plea in Norway.


http://lovdata.no/all/hl-19810522-025.html#map018
http://www.regjeringen.no/nb/dep/jd/dok ... ?id=377676

[K. A. Pital]

Delusions of grandeur are not a sign of insanity.

[Simon_Jester]

Er, "not a sign of insanity" or "not a sign of insanity that can be used as a defense against criminal charges?"

[K. A. Pital]

Delusions of a kind don't mean insanity by default. Otherwise we'd have to conclude that all religious people are insane in a practical, if not in a legal sense, since they harbor delusions.

[evilsoup]

I'm pretty sure 'insanity' isn't a word that's used in any kind of medical/psychiatric setting, only by the courts (and in everyday speech of course).