What will happen to Norway mass killer Breivik? (Crime & Law)

URL: 

http://extensivereadingprogram.blogspot.com/2012/04/what-will-happen-to-norway-mass-killer.html?utm_source=BP_recent

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/04/17/world/europe/norway-breivik-trial-explainer/index.html?hpt=hp_c2 

Reading Time: 21 minutes

Level of Difficulty: 3

Summary:

　　Anders Behring Breivik, who is a mass killer in Norway. He set off a bomb that killed eight people, then shot 69 people at a youth camp. The trial of him is under way. Whether Breivik was sane or insane at the time of the killings is extremely critical.

Feedback/Comment:

　　Breivik’s crazy behavior is too horrible to define. I even can not imagine the gun rampage scene. His mental facility and consciousness are confusing and uncertain. Although somebody claimed that Breivik was paranoid and schizophrenic at the time of the attacks, I think he is guilty. His unreasonable act caused an abundance of innocent people passing away. It not only resulted in countless broken homes but also brought them boundless sorrow and pain. I can not easily forgive Breivik’s cruel behavior, to say nothing of victims and their family. Abolishing death penalty or not has provoked much discussion among everyone in Taiwan. I do not think death penalty is a good manner to deal with criminals because life is precious. In spite of opposing paying back in the same coin, I consider that Breivik should pay for his attacks to some degree. If he was insane then, Breivik will just be confined to a psychiatric institution for the rest of his life and pend reviews of his mental state by the court every three years. In my opinion, it is so cheap of it. He killed 77 people and made numerous people frightened and miserable. Maybe Breivik may regret and be sorry for victims, but I suppose that he have to be sentenced to prison or preventive detention. After all, the harm has been done and we could not bring victims back to life.

Discussion Issues:

1.What is your opinion about death penalty？

2.How do you think about Breivik’s attacks？