Mass killer Breivik to appeal judgment if declared insane

Breivik’s mental state will be the focus when the Oslo district court presents its judgment against Breivik today for the bomb and gun attacks that killed 77 people last year.

Speaking yesterday, defence lawyer Geir Lippestad said his client would accept a jail sentence and would only appeal if committed to psychiatric care.

Breivik, who claims he is a “militant nationalist,” said during the trial that being sent to an insane asylum would be the worst thing that could happen to him and accused Norwegian authorities of trying to cast him as sick to deflate his political views.

If declared insane, the killer will be the sole patient of a psychiatric ward that Norway has built just for him, with 17 people to treat him.

If found mentally fit, he will remain isolated in a high-security prison where he has three cells with a bedroom, an exercise room and a study.

He would face a sentence of “preventive detention.” Unlike a regular prison sentence – which can be no longer than 21 years in Norway — that confinement option can be extended for as long as an inmate is considered dangerous to society. It also offers more programs and therapy.

During his trial, Breivik, 33, coolly described how he set off a car bomb that killed eight people and injured scores in Oslo’s government district on July 22 last year. Then he unleashed a shooting rampage that left 69 people dead, mostly teenagers, at the summer camp of the governing Labor Party’s youth wing. The youngest victim was 14.

The self-styled anti-Muslim militant said he was defending Norway by targeting the political party he accused of betraying the country with liberal immigration policies.

Since Breivik’s guilt is not in question, the key decision for the Oslo district court is whether to declare him insane after two psychiatric teams reached opposite conclusions on his mental health.

Its ruling will be read in a courtroom custom-built for Breivik’s trial at a cost of 40 million kroner ($6.8m). A glass partition separates Breivik from relatives of victims. Remote-controlled cameras capture the proceedings, and a video feed is distributed to court rooms around Norway.

Prison officials say the special measures for Breivik are justified because he presents a security risk that Norway’s prison and justice systems previously didn’t have the infrastructure to deal with.