SKIEN, Norway (AP) -- Norwegian mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik told a panel of judges Thursday that his solitary confinement in prison had deeply damaged him and made him even more radical in his neo-Nazi beliefs.Dressed in a black suit, the right-wing extremist who killed 77 people in a 2011 bomb attack and shooting spoke coherently and without emotion as he addressed the panel considering if his isolation is inhumane....Breivik, 37, was speaking during a hearing at the high-security prison in southern Norway where he is serving a 21-year sentence and has been in solitary confinement since 2012.The government is appealing a lower court ruling that held his constant segregation was degrading and violated European human rights standards.
Sometimes, compassion is difficult to feel.
ReplyDeleteOldCharlie touches on some powerful visceral emotions that arise in response to such heinous acts.
ReplyDeleteThe late Rev. Dr. M. L. King spoke this sentiment very articulately:
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."
Unlike my Avatar I am no specialist in effective penal systems, I doubt that prolonged solitary confinement does anything other than provide perverse momentary pleasure to some sadistic politicians, correction administrators, and certain members of the general public.
In the meantime some of Breivik's assertion may simply be preposterous. In any case, there is a fair amount of material on the 'net relating how others have survived long term solitary. (Routines, Exercise, Reading, Spiritual Practice, Meditation, Relaxation, etc.)