This morning my twitter feed is full of comments, many from the USA simply incredulous that Anders Behring Breivik, a sane person, can recieve a sentence of 21 years for killing 77 and wounding 240 of his fellow citizens.
Ignore for a moment that 21 years is the maximum sentence the Norwegian courts can impose for ANY crime and that should Breivik be considered a danger at the end of this sentence, he could be detained for a further period.
A radio phone-in host, Jeremy Vine, even calculated that his sentence amounted to '3 months and 8 days per victim, not including those injured.'
You wouldn't imagine that this level of sentencing would offer much of a deterrent. But compare the homicide statistics in Norway with those of the United States, where I've little doubt that Breivik would have recieved a death sentence.
In 2010, the last year comparisons can be made, Norway has a homicide rate of 0.68 deaths per 100,000 population. The United States rate was 4.8 per 100,000.
Hi Tony,
My name is Claire and I work for the television production company Studio Lambert.
We are currently working on a new Channel 4 programme and I was wondering if I might speak to you about it.
If you could contact me at this address – [email protected] – it would be great to hear your thoughts on the programme and see if you might be interested in being involved.
Kindest regards,
Claire
Posted by: Claire Stratton | 01 October 2012 at 04:07 PM