Interesting Links for 26-08-2012

[andrewducker]

• Why Anders Breivik Only Got 21 Years for Killing 77 People (I love the sound of Norway's justice system)
  (tags: law crime norway )
• Animation of a Broken Space Elevator
  (tags: simulation space )
• Shetland tidal turbine will be world first
  (tags: energy tidal scotland )
• All shooting victims outside Empire State Building were hit by police gunfire.
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Comments

[phillipalden]

That part of Norway's justice system I just don't understand. I like that they are focused on rehabilitation, but some people simply cannot be rehabilitated.

It's still likely a major improvement over our system, which is racist, biased against the poor, and corrupt as hell.

[andrewducker]

I do like that they can keep him indefinitely if they judge that he hasn't been rehabilitated.

[danieldwilliam]

I found the article on Breivik fascination. A nice bit on comparative justice systems. Interesting on the authors own gut feel reaction to the Norweigen way of doing things. Really interesting for my own reaction, which was pretty close to the authors. I appear to like the idea of restorative justice and to understand that data that shows it leads to less crime and a lower cost of crime all round but my gut response to Breivik was “21 years?!? I just don’t see how that works.” Turns out I get Old Testement on occassions.

Reading the article I found myself trying to re-frame restorative justice as more just because although it didn’t have the satisfying justice as punishment thing going on, it did mean there were fewer victims overall.

When actually, when I think about things, is a system that stops people doing bad and destructive things to each other and encourages us to follow the administrative rules and honour our contracts and agreements.

[andrewducker]

I can see why they've gone for something like 21 years as a maximum possible sentence (ignoring rehabilitations/sentence extension). If a person _is_ going to be deterred/rehabilitated, then it seems likely it's going to happen within that time. If not, then the sentence extension will kick in.

[danieldwilliam]

Yeah I think so.

For any crime that I might contemplate where I’m in my right mind than 21 years is going to put me off.

For crimes that I might commit whilst not really thinking straight and therefore not really paying attention to the deterrance of the sentence 21 seems ample time to fix me or to declare me permanently broken.

[fub]

But that is why the sentence can be extended -- if Breivik doesn't repent, he'll stay in jail.