“82 days per killing”

While I guess it should come as no surprise, I just learned that the longest prison sentence Anders Breivik can receive is 21 years:

The fact that Norway’s maximum penalty for any crime is 21 years in prison is facing rising criticism in the wake of the twin attacks that killed 93 people, with many deeming the penalty too lax.

Ever since Norwegian media named 32-year-old Anders Behring Breivik as the prime suspect, calls have been growing for the maximum penalty under the Norwegian penal code to be extended.

If found guilty, Behring Breivik’s 21 years in prison would equal a penalty of 82 days per killing.

“So many innocent people have been killed that I think he doesn’t have the right to live,” Mari Kaugerud says on her Facebook group “Yes to the death penalty for Anders Behring Breivik” that already has 1783 members.

Dozens of similar groups have sprung up since Friday’s killings, some calling for the death penalty, others for natural life in prison.

When he gets out, he’ll be younger than I am.  Considering what he said in his manifesto about the need to kill large number of “traitors,” I think they’d be nuts to ever let him out, no matter what he says or how full of repentance he might claim to be.

In nearby Netherlands, the murderer (in 2002) of Pim Fortuyn only received an 18 year sentence, which makes him eligible for release in 2014.

While I have mixed feelings about the death penalty, it certainly acts as a deterrent where it comes to future murders by the same person.

Let’s face it, Timothy McVeigh will never kill again.