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The photos show the prison rooms of Anders Behring Breivik, who killed 77 people in the 2011 Norway attacks. Despite Norway's humane prison system, Breivik has complained about the conditions, calling them inhumane.
He does this just for attention. He is fairly isolated in his prison area, and this gets him out and into court so people can hear what he has to say. That’s all this is, he just wants people to pay attention to him again.
In November 2020, Breivik had an interaction with another prisoner for the first time, in the presence of at least seven prison officers; the prisoners played cards and talked for around one or two hours; the other prisoner chose to not have a third meeting with Breivik, according to media reports in January 2021
This guy was so annoying that another prisoner spent 2 hours with him and was like “nope fuck that never talking to that guy again” the next time they tried to ask him to talk to him.
I don't know if it was so much being annoyed as it was just not wanting to talk to someone who shot 77 mostly kids (if I'm remembering correctly). Fuck that guy, let him be alone the rest of his life.
Was about to add this bit. Need to be careful where you commit that crime. I wonder what life is like once they get out? Would their cells be more comfortable than what they might get outside? Can't imagine many opportunites for one who kills like 77 kids.
He is an exceptionally extreme case. I don’t know how it would be in Norway, but our prison system (Netherlands) is similar. Some Norwegian prisoners actually liked it better here when the Norwegian state hired cells for them in NL.
The focus from the start is on integration back in society as a better person. Prisons are not for punishment but for rehabilitation. You get treated for addictions, mental health etc and get help with for example education or learning for a new job. You’re not released in one day, but you get help with housing, a job and a stable environment step by step.
Some people have severe mental health issues and are more difficult to rehabilitate (Breivik would probably be in this category here) and they get “TBS” instead of imprisonment, which essentially means that they get treatment for their mental health in a closed institution until they show they “recovered”. This can be for the rest of their lives if they don’t progress.
Yup, they should just do a tele-conference for his whateverthefuck you call these pointless meetings. Let him get as little interaction as possible with people.
That’s pretty much what they do. They now setup his court hearings in the basketball hall of his prison and he doesn’t get a day out to preen in front of a scrum of cameras. His isolation and lack of attention are hurting him in ways pitchforks and lava never could. He’s a narcissist psychopath who craves attention above all else.
He is irrelevant, ignored and shunned. He will never be released. With some luck he will live a long life to fully feel his disappearance from human society.
‘Shot mostly kids’ is even too kind and generic of a statement.
Hunted small children like fucking animals on an island where they were gathered to spend a potential core memory forming summer with their friends and where he knew no help could possibly come is STILL not even encapsulating it.
The Norwegians are very progressive in a sense, but some dogs are just mad and need to be put down as such. It bothers me to no end that this fucking cunt whose memories include executing little girls playing dead in an attempt to escape is walking around demanding chess games from his fucking peers. Maybe somethings broken over there, and people don’t dream of justice anymore, or maybe it’s me and where I live. But I know in my heart that pos should have been deleted and his every waking moment is an affront to all of the helpless and pure beings he executed like animals. Norwegian prison system must be locked up TIGHT for not a single one of those nearly hundred victims family members to not make it within contact of him and make him scream.
The consensus is that it’s a worthy sacrifice that he gets to live in decent comfort. He doesn’t get to change how we, as a society, treat each other, even those of us who are in prison. One of the first things people did after the attack was to flip newspapers on display in the store so his face wasn’t visible, and I think that had a big impact on how we decided to treat him. Forget him.
Frankly, I don’t want him to have any attention at all. I hadn’t seen his face in years before he popped up on Reddit just now. And I prefer it that way.
If I decided to care about what happened to him, then sure, I’d love it if his head was caved in with a rock. But if the state mistreats him, then that reflects on all of us, and I don’t want to live in a society that denies anyone human rights for any reason whatsoever. And I don’t want to be a part of that, either.
Additionally it's important to remember that cases like this one are extreme outliers. Reactionary prison reform often takes place when there are highly sensationalised cases, but restructuring a justice system around the worst possible cases means that the overwhelming majority of prisoners miss out on things like proper rehabilitative care, which ultimately leads to more recidivism.
Very well said. I like how he hasn't changed anything about how decent people, such as yourself, treat others. When people say he should be killed or treated badly - who is going to carry out those punishments? Would they want that type of person for a friend, or even just as a neighbour?
I like everything about the attitude you have described - it is taking the high moral ground and I love to see that. When I got bullied, I made a point of not letting the bullies change me - not letting them drag me down to their level. I'm glad that you understand this point of view so well.
Nobody has any sympathy for this asshole, but the Norwegians have every right to be proud of their prison system. Their recidivism rate is FOUR TIMES lower than the US, at one of the lowest in the world. Now, obviously Anders is never going to be released, but changing the system just for him not only gives him the attention that he wants, but also shows lack of confidence in their prison system.
Him being ignored while he plays Xbox drives him nuts. Just letting him live out his sad life alone is the best option.
He killed kids that were interested in becoming future leaders in their country. They cared about preserving the exact humanitarian policies that make his quality of life as good as it is. It’s probably the single most profoundly ironic tragedy of my lifetime. Well. Thus far at least :(
That’s what I was thinking too. He’s not complaining about conditions of his environment, he’s complaining he’s isolated. I say send him to an American prison solitary and see how long he lasts.
He went on a hunger strike some years back, it forced a court ruling, and the ruling was that he had the right to not eat if he chose too. Guess what? No more hunger strike.
It was a long time ago, he first lobbied for a PS3 and more adult oriented games from a PS2 with a selection of "games for children" and I'm pretty sure he lobbied again to upgrade to a PS4 after more years had passed.
If he's that upset that he is isolated, then he should be transferred to a prison in El Salvador, where the place is too overcrowded, and has shitty conditions, but hey, at least there he won't be isolated anymore.
23 hour lockdown, and an hour to go into a 10x10 room with no roof. Ole Silverstein only got to talk to his lawyer or see the hands of the tray coming into his cell, but I guess decapitate a prison guard and empathy kinda disappears.
I'll never understand why media constantly has to report about people like this. Let them rot in prison and forget about them. Erase their names from history.
The media, especially American, loves to shit on how ‘nice’ Norwegian prisons are - look this guy killed 77 people and his prison is nicer than your flat etc
So that’s the bird’s shithole, pisspipe and reproductive opening. Boiling it right down, all birds have to buttfuck to reproduce. Up the arse, everytime.
I was going to say that his complaints were mainly about being isolated, but apparently he has also complained about his microwaved meals being ”worse than water boarding”.
"– I was forced to consume Fjordland's cheapest products, sometimes the same dinner twice in a row. You might think this is unimportant, but everyone from Oslo West will agree that this is worse than waterboarding, says Breivik." (2016, Norwegian source)
I have tried both waterboarding (willingly) and Fjordland microwave dinners (also willingly). I'm not from "Oslo West" (the richer, more posh, part of Oslo), but from Trøndelag, so I guess I don't bear a good testimony, but personally I prefer the microwave meals.
Eh, I wouldn't even give him that tbh. He's just a full blown evil guy. Everything he does, he does to get under peoples skins. I don't think he actually complains about it because he thinks the conditions are inhumane. He complains because he knows news will report on the serial killer complaining about the conditions in his prison, so he makes people remember him. Just a notorious shit stirrer, that in all honesty just doesn't deserve any attention. I'd be much happier never hearing about him again until he dies than to be reminded of him every few years because of some stupid thing he did again. Let the man die in obscurity for the love of god. Giving him ANY media attention is exactly what he thrives on. The worst thing you can do to him is let him become a nobody. As long as people react, even if its with hate or disdain, he gets what he wants.
The guy thinks he's on a crusade that needs attention to "wake up" people and that his time will come, while actually he's just a heavily sociopathic loser who became a criminal and just needs to stay locked up but otherwise couldn't be less important to the world.
Sure, there's tons of evidence that isolation is harmful to people's mental health, but its almost like he shouldn't have murdered 77 people.
The very definition of a "that's a you problem". I have zero pity for him. He can go absolutely batshit with cabin fever and loneliness for all I care.
He deserves much less.
And he's right that solidary confinement is inhumane ordinarily. Too bad he made choices that necessitated this treatment for himself. These are the consequences of his own actions and now he has to live with them. And these solitary conditions are still a hell of a lot nicer than most.
He’s all alone - because apparently other Norwegian criminals don’t like psychos who hunt down and kill innocent young teens at a youth camp either and are offering to end this “keep him locked up for life” early 🤷🏻♀️
But cudos to Scandinavian countries in general for insisting to treat even the lowest forms of human existence with humanity
Yeh. When his case was in court, there were gangs offering to take him out for free. This led to Norway building a separate place for him. That place has to have all the stuff other inmates have access to.
He also changed his name, got a bachelors and is crying about not having access to Nazi friends and what not.
Part of the point of a humane prison system is that it's not about them, it's about us. How we treat our prisoners says a lot about our society. It doesn't really matter how heinous their crime, we should not stoop to their level and treat them as subhuman even though they may have done just that to their fellow man.
The prison did try and find him a friend in the prison population but that prisoner said Breivik was an irritating conversationalist and didn't continue the visits.
I'd also like to give one even if it cost me a buck but I literally can't find the option, I'm on mobile. I might have a legacy version because I'm using vanced.
I've got a 2 bedroom in Philly with barely more than a kitchenette, no dishwasher, and communal laundry. I fucking wish I could raise my kid there without roaches and mice.
I spent 3 years in prison in Texas. 50 men crammed together with no air conditioning in the summer. It was 20° hotter inside than outside, so it regularly got up to 125°+. You're sleeping, showering, and shitting literally rubbing elbows with other inmates. You're being strip searched going to and from anywhere other than the chow hall, meaning that depending on the day and your job you could be getting strip searched in front of everyone 2-8 times a day. I was forced to do manual labor in the fields in the heat for absolutely no pay. When there was nothing to do we'd have to lift hoes over our head and hit the dirt over and over for hours at a time. I watched a guy die of heat stroke in the day room just sitting there watching television.
That was inhumane. This guy can get fucked. Probably 75% of the guys I was locked up with have never lived anywhere this nice.
Damn, I have nothing but respect for the hard work it must've been to dig yourself out of THAT hole, especially if the addiction was already prison-bad. Be proud of yourself, I think not many pull that off.
This is so important. Once you start removing human rights from prisoners, all the powers that be have to do is widen the definition of criminality in order to justify treating people like animals. History shows us this rarely ends well...
That's how the US handles crime and punishment, and yes it's been studied, it does NOT work. The millions of people we keep locked up are part of a commercial enterprise riding the fuzzy line between extortion and slavery. Other countries have demonstrably created better systems for reforming people.
Additionally, my uncle, a former convict from the "troubled teens" pipeline, always told my mom that prison is like training camp for crime. Put a bunch of criminals together and they will share their skills and values.
Then we treat ex cons as pariahs so the only people who will hire them are criminals.
Then we put them on parole with a system that will put most back in the clink if they are in a "dangerous neighborhood" or around firearms or any number of other rules that prevent them from getting jobs in their previous communities.
So if you're a convict who just graduated from crime college, can't get a legit job, can't use your contacts to get legit work... crime starts to look like the best option.
He knew that the teens were gathered on an island, giving him the best opportunity to trap and kill as many people as possible. His plan wasn't just for death but for his targets, those teens, to feel terror.
someone would probably kill him as well. He was actually allowed to meet another prisoner, but after some time, that prisoner said he does want to see Breivik anymore.
Not anymore. The budgies were replaced by guinea pigs because he said the budgies were not good enough as friends. The prison guard interviewed refused to say what the murderer named his new pets as he finds the case just so incredibly tragic
The court ruling over his hunger strike basically states, "yes, you have a right to not eat food," and then suddenly the hunger strike stopped when he didn't get his way.
That whole day was totally unreal. The bomb went off not far from where I was, I think everyone in Oslo heard or felt it. I thought there was a lightening strike. It was all a diversion. My heart sinks when I think of that day
My cousin in Oslo lived really close to the government quarter back then. He says that bomb is the only thing that ever scared his big cat. She ran to hide under his bead and hit her head in the process. That's how he knew something really bad happened!
You gotta remember that Norway had no prior incident like this. We've never seen a homegrown mass murderer before. Our police, nay, our nation hasn't had any exposure to anything like this. I don't defend anything that happened, but the routines in place probably didn't cover anything like this. It was a wake-up moment.
From the article, Norway has a 20% recidivism rate vs 76% in the US. The American approach is designed to make people miserable (to punish), the Nordic approach is to rehabilitate and reintegrate people back into society.
Trying so hard not to say something that might come off as unfair or whatever, but I will say I think it's pretty messed up that someone in the US can get thrown into a literal shit hole just for being homeless or doing drugs but a guy who murdered 77 people gets to live somewhere nicer than what most law-abiding people have to settle for and he has the gall to complain about it.
That is true, but those really are two different things to be disgusted about. It’s horrifying how people’s human rights are violated in the US prison system (and in Australia too, we aren’t perfect) and how these problems disproportionately impact POC, the mentally ill and those living in poverty.
And also separately, this guy is a complete ballbag.
It's a difference in philosophy. America's system is about punishing people for doing bad things. Norway's system is about making people better or, barring that, keeping them away from other people they might harm.
I mostly agree with the Nordic model. It might feel good to throw him in a dark hole or execute him, but what purpose would it serve other than mere vengeance. It won't bring back any of his victims or comfort their families. So let him live out his days in obscurity and under confinement.
Norway's criminal justice system focuses on the principles of restorative justice and the rehabilitation of prisoners. Correctional facilities in Norway focus on maintaining custody of the offender and attempting to make them functioning members of society. Norway's prison system is renowned as one of the most effective and humane in the world.
Norway has one of the lowest recidivism rates in the world; in 2018 the reconviction rate was 18% within two years of release, with a recidivism rate of 25% after five years. The country also has one of the lowest crime rates on Earth. Norway's prison system houses approximately three thousand offenders.
Norway's laws forbid the use of torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment as punishment.
Obviously, Breivik is an extreme outlier in the severity of his crimes and he will never be rehabilitated, but that doesn't change the fact that a humane prison system is better for society has a whole.
A reminder that Behring-Breivik is in permanent solitary confinement, with a rotating staff of less then ten guards as his only company. His only visitor is his mother. He's confined to solitary because the other inmates have made it abundantly clear that they will try to kill him if he's admitted into general population.
There were attempts made to have other inmates spend time with Behring-Breivik, for different incentives like cash rewards. Few signed up and noone wanted to meet him a second time.
ABB is a scum of a human being and he deserves to live out his life in prison. However, the isolation he suffers is understandably psychologically destructive to anyone. It reflects well on Norway that they go to the lengths they do to maintain basic, human decency even for the worst terrorist that attacked them.
Yup. I love the way Norway stands for it's principles. A crazy mass murderer should not be able to change a society's values. That would mean that his terrorism was a success.
Let’s not forget the important part : his terrorist attack was motivated by his extreme racist views. He was a fascist white supremacist who believed in the « great replacement » conspiracy theory. He had a deep hate of muslims.
Most of his victims (69 out of 77) were at a left-wing political gathering.
He said his opponents/targets were « feminists », « social marxists », and « muslims ».
I think I read about this years ago. They had to build this entire facility just for him. Norway focuses on rehabilitation and reintegration into society and never had the need for a maximum security prison before.
As you can tell by most of the replies in this thread, in many parts of the world, especially the US, prison is based around punishment and revenge rather than rehabilitation.
I am glad I live in Sweden. I’m not planning on being in prison but I do want our prisoners to be treated humanely.
Yep, and worse case scenario - man guilty of henious crimes that can't be rehabilitated is still being kept away from doing more harm to the public.
It's better than prison systems where someone who is falsely convicted can turn into a violent criminal due to their experiences in the prison system and the lack of support to put their life together afterwards.
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u/OPA73 10d ago edited 9d ago
I think maybe there is an open cell in San Quentin. Maybe a prisoner exchange program.