I haven't really followed much about the Anders Brievik story, except the headlines that he killed 77 people in two separate attacks, and that his maximum prison sentence will be 21 years (although that may end up as life imprisonment).
Can you imagine the furore if it had happened in this country? "Animal!" Placards waving. Protests. Marches. Lack of respect for authority.
What kind of society is so accepting of not having a death sentence for such a heinous crime? When the court started assembling for the sentencing on Friday morning I ran some thoughts through my own head. "He killed 77 people. What would you do to this guy? Shoot 77 bullets into his own body? Tear him apart bit by bit? Hang him?".
Well, that's something Bedfordshire top Tory Richard Stay would presumably want. He clearly promotes bringing back the rope to the UK, for people who murder.
I pulled myself into check. This is happening in Norway. They don't behave like that. Why not? Have they ascended to a higher plain? A less knee-jerk society? A collective respect for their laws?
The Independent - Leading article: "Anders Breivik trial exemplified Norway's strengths". Strengths? Ah, that'll be their Liberal society. "...the humanity, dignity and lack of panic with which Norway's leaders responded to the country's most heinous act of terrorism...", "confronted with an extreme atrocity, its social tolerance and respect for the law remained intact."
Aslak Sira Myhre writing in The Guardian "I am... proud to live in a country where my want for revenge does not define the judicial system. "
Way to go Norway. After all, the young lives cut down by Anders Breivik cannot be brought back.
