Insanity… Really?

First of all, I would like to say: Kondolanser til folk i Norge.

I was horrified to learn of the bombing and shootings in Norway. I was even more horrified – as a mental health sufferer – that the perpetrators lawyer wants him to be classed as insane.

While, I understand that people will want to class this man as insane, I think the defence of insanity is a cowards way out of facing up to his responsibilities. The dictionary definition of insanity from a legal perspective is: ‘… such unsoundness of mind as affects legal responsibility or capacity‘. From the dictionary definition of criminal insanity, he quite clearly isn’t insane.

The dictionary definition of insane is as follows:

• not sane; not of sound mind; mentally deranged.
• of, pertaining to, or characteristic of a person who is mentally deranged

The following news story: Breivik Manifesto clearly shows that he was sane enough to have a manifesto and publish it.

I wholeheartedly belive that he knew what he was doing when he carried out the attacks. (Mass shooting is marker 1 and bombings is marker 2 on the map below) He had clear intentions of his target. He said that his target was the Labour Party because of the immigration rules. All this shows that he knew what he was doing. Someone who knows what they are doing cannot be insane. The insanity defence is a ridiculous attempt at avoiding proper justice.