In Breivik’s case is not about himself, but about all of us – policy

Norwegian penitentiary court agreed with a complaint Anders Breivik – mass murderer sitting in good conditions in prison in Norway – and awarded him the conditions even better, especially with regard to its isolation from the others. On the surface, this ruling raises indignation as absurd. It is easy to make fun of him.

Why the State would treat someone well, who showed no mercy, even would say humanity towards other people – would deserve some special attention. Breivik complains mainly on loneliness and indeed, although there is no single academic definition of this term, it is not the lack of psychological studies that demonstrate the enormous psychological damage, which in man causes isolation.

Our civilization gradually changed outlook on the nature of the penalty. For centuries regarded as legitimate and obvious principles of the Code of Hammurabi: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Sienkiewicz of suspicious lovingly described pile alive at the stake, and in the trilogy rozczytywały up after millions of readers and the reward for a crime considered probably the right.

The penalty was merely retaliation. First, at least in Europe, they abandoned the death penalty. Incidentally – and not counting the war – in Norway last death sentence was carried out in the nineteenth century. This society, which takes a different measure of humanity. As for the other penalties gradually functions of their extended, hoping sentenced to prison can be restored to society through rehabilitation, that no man is lost forever.

In the place of judgment would ask, but the question of how Breivik takes the their serious-minded. Is the extremely inhumane and racist views, also views the ease of killing others, they are durable, or his wielosetstronicowe manifestos, he writes, will be supported in their dealings with others? What benefit will amount to personal contacts, which the court granted him?

But you can not ignore the opinion of one of the reasons for the judgment of the court of the penitentiary. It reads like this: prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment is a fundamental value in a democratic society. This applies to absolutely – also against the terrorists and killers.

What does this mean? In my opinion, the court made it clear that in this case is not so much about Breivik as the rest of society, all of us. We have adopted certain standards of a democratic state and we will not Breivik his act these standards change.

It’s not so much about his well-being and conditions, how much of the mental condition of society, which – along with the progress of civilization – have adopted rules for its own proceedings, and do not conduct Breivik. The court says so: yes, we may have strict rules, but that we have, and we will stick to them. In addition, if the philosopher said, you can never overdo neither goodness nor beauty.