Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Breivik Trial - Mike Nova's starred items - 4:50 PM 4/18/2012

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Mike Nova: Breivik Trial and The Crisis Of Psychiatry As A Science

via Forensic Psychiatry News by Mike Nova on 4/17/12

Mike Nova

Breivik Trial and The Crisis Of Psychiatry As A Science

Breivik is not the only one who is on this trial. Psychiatry as a science is on this trial also, just like on many other trials where forensic psychiatric involvement is sought. This is highlighted by the two contradictory psychiatric assessments of the accused, with their directly opposing diagnostic impressions and directly conflicting main general conclusions. The first forensic psychiatric evaluation, completed on November 29, 2011 by the psychiatrists Torgeir Husby and Synne Sørheim found Breivik to be "paranoid schizophrenic" and "psychotic" at the time of the alleged crime and presently and therefore legally "insane". A leaked copy of the initial psychiatric examination described his crusader fantasy as a product of the "bizarre, grandiose delusions" of a sick mind.
The second evaluation, about 300 pages long, made by the psychiatrists Terje Toerrissen and Agnar Aspaas on a request from the court after widespread criticism of the first one, was completed on April 10, 2012, just six days before the trial, but was not released, and according to the leaked information, found him afflicted with "narcissistic personality disorder" with "grandiose self" and not psychotic at the time of the alleged crime and presently and therefore legally "sane".
The latest psychiatric report was confidential, but national broadcaster NRK and other Norwegian media who claimed to have seen its conclusions said it described Breivik as narcissistic but not psychotic.
Torgensen gets the impression that Breivik found an ideal place to nourish his delusions of grandeur in the anti-Islamic scene full of crusader fantasies. “This was coupled with an extremely sadistic disorder,” Torgensen says. “This disastrous combination could explain the scale of his violence.”
The new report from forensic psychiatrists Terje Tørrissen and Agnar Aspaas concludes that he did not have “significantly weakened capacity for realistic evaluation of his relations with the outside world, and did not act under severely impaired consciousness”.
"Our conclusion is that he (was) not psychotic at the time of the actions of terrorism and he is not psychotic now," Terje Toerrissen, one of the psychiatrists who examined Breivik in prison, told The Associated Press.
Thus, as it almost always happens in complex forensic psychiatric cases, it was left for the infinite wisdom and common sense of the court, unburdened by the "sophisticated" and empty psychiatric jargon, to decide by itself, and rightly so, the "main questions" of the accused's mental illness or mental health and his "sanity" or "insanity" and to make its own, judicial decision regarding the issue of legal responsibility. Both mutually conflicting (but not mutually exclusive) forensic psychiatric evaluations, which, no doubt, were performed in good faith and with utmost professional diligence, will be taken into account by the court, but were rendered almost irrelevant by their contradictions. Once again, psychiatry, pretending to be a medical discipline and a science, was humiliated and reduced to the position of a laughing stock for the public and the media.
Mr. Breivik's skillful and astute lead defense lawyer, Mr. Geri Lippestad, treating his client with respect and at the same time with appropriate professional distance and apparently convinced of his client's mental illness and "insanity", chose a strategy of presenting Mr. Breivik to the court and to the public "as is", letting him to reveal himself and his presumed mental illness fully as the engine of alleged criminal behavior, apparently counting that it will be convincing enough for both the judges and for the court of public opinion.
“This whole case indicated that he is insane,” Geir Lippestad told reporters. “He looks upon himself as a warrior. He starts this war and takes some kind of pride in that,” Lippestad said. Lippestad said Breivik had used “some kind of drugs” before the crime to keep strong and awake, and was surprised he had not been killed during the attacks or en route to Monday’s court hearing.
Lippestad, a member of the Labour party whose youth wing had been the target of Friday’s shooting rampage, said he would quit if Breivik did not agree to psychological tests.
Geir Lippestad said the new report means Breivik's testimony will be crucial "when the judges decide whether he is insane or not." The trial started on April 16 and is scheduled to last 10 weeks.
Mr. Breivik declared himself undoubtedly and completely "sane" and consistently, if somewhat eerily out of place and time, painted a self-portrait as a model and self-sacrificing ideological warrior, taking as an insult any, albeit "professional" opinions otherwise and dismissed them with anger and indignation.
“On this day,” he said, “I was waging a one-man war against all the regimes of Western Europe. I felt traumatized every second that blood and brains were spurting out. War is hell.”
"Breivik told the court that "ridiculous" lies had been told about him, rattling off a list which accused him of being a narcissist who was obsessed with the red jumper he wore to his first court hearing, of having a "bacterial phobia", "an incestuous relationship with my mother", "of being a child killer despite no one who died on Utoya being under 14".
He was not insane, he repeated many times. He claimed it was Norway's politicians who should be locked up in the sort of mental institution he can expect to spend the rest of his days if the court declares him criminally insane at the end of the ten-week trial. He said: "They expect us to applaud our ethnic and cultural doom... They should be characterised as insane, not me. Why is this the real insanity? This is the real insanity because it is not rational to work to deconstruct ones own ethnic group, culture and religion."
All this is fine and dandy, and, no doubt, the aforementioned infinite wisdom of Scandinavian level headed justice (embodied in a stern but motherly demeanor of the presiding Judge Wenche Elisabeth Arntzen) will eventually emanate from its somewhat obscure, slowly but surely turning and unstoppable wheels, hopefully to almost every one's satisfaction. And eventually, this horrendous crime, the purp and the trial will be almost forgotten and placed into archives for further studies.
But the nagging questions remain and will remain for some, and probably a long time: is psychiatry really a science? Or is it just a collection of "professional" opinions, mixed with convenient labels and outdated jargon? What is "sane" and what is "insane"? And how far should the justice go in its modern "humane" stance?

Breivik Trial and The Crisis Of Psychiatry As Science - Links

Does Breivik suffer from DELUSIONAL DISORDER, Grandiose - Persecutory Type?

via Forensic Psychiatry News by Mike Nova on 4/18/12

Does Breivik suffer from DELUSIONAL DISORDER? (Grandiose - Persecutory Type)?

All symptoms and behaviors fit into this (relatively rare but very well recognised, well described, discrete - which is important for its clinical validity; and very interesting psychopathologically and also historically - Krepeline, Freud, etc.) syndrome quite nicely. If these diagnostic impressions are confirmed in further psychiatric evaluations and affirmed by the court, then Breivik definitely should not be considered legally responsible (although he is fit to proceed) for his crime and should be treated as an "insane" and mentally ill.
In addition to this, his habitus (square face and jaw, etc.) and quality of his emotional reactions (e.g. on questioning on Day 3 of the Trial) betray the signs of subtle yet visible organicity with some affective involvement. It would be surprising if his cognitive functioning and the results of neuropsychological testing are intact completely. The results of EEG, including sleep deprivation EEG, would be interesting to see; temporal lobes dysfunction is quite possible.
The results of projective tests could shed some light on the state of his emotional life.
Is it possible to influence or use for adverse purposes a person ill with Delusional Disorder, in other words, to "program" them? Yes, it is, if it is done skillfully and suggestions are incorporated into a subject's delusional system or if the delusions are shared.
Thus, a new vista of possibilities has opened, in the light of Day 3 of the Trial's revelatons of Breivik's connections with Serbian nationalists and history of his military or intelligence training in Belarus.

References and Links

The “Pseudocommando” Mass Murderer: A Blaze of Vainglory - Psychiatric Times
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Delusional Disorder - The American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Forensic Psychiatry

By Robert I. Simon, Liza H. Gold

http://books.google.com.pr/books?id=zNuT2ZJvRvsC&lpg=PA97&ots=0t-mgO7z7L&dq=delusional%20disorder%20forensic%20psychiatry&pg=PA97#v=onepage&q=delusional%20disorder%20forensic%20psychiatry&f=false

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Alistair Munro

0 Reviewshttp://books.google.com.pr/books/about/Delusional_Disorder.html?id=tjZRqzXK2gkC

Cambridge University Press, Mar 4, 1999 - 261 pages

Delusional disorder, once termed paranoia, was an important diagnosis in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Only in 1987 was it reintroduced into modern psychiatric diagnosis after being incorporated with schizophrenia. This book provides a comprehensive review of delusional disorder for psychiatrists and other clinicians. Beginning with the emergence of the concept of delusional disorder, the book goes on to detail its manifold presentations, differential diagnosis and treatment. The author provides many instructive case histories, illustrating

delusional disorder

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delusional disorder Breivik - Google Search

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The “Pseudocommando” Mass Murderer: A Blaze of Vainglory - Psychiatric Times

via Forensic Psychiatry News by Mike Nova on 4/18/12

The “Pseudocommando” Mass Murderer: A Blaze of Vainglory - Psychiatric Times

Psychiatric Times.Vol. 29No. 1

NEWS

The “Pseudocommando” Mass Murderer: A Blaze of Vainglory

By James L. Knoll IV, MD |January 4, 2012

The term “pseudocommando” was first used to describe the type of mass murderer who plans his actions “after long deliberation,” and who kills indiscriminately in public during the daytime.² He comes prepared with a powerful arsenal of weapons and has no escape planned. He is sometimes described as having the intent to die in a “blaze of glory.” Since glory has been defined as “a state of great gratification or exaltation,” the cliché to go out in a blaze of glory would seem to be a perverse turn of phrase, considering the unfathomable pain and tragedy these individuals cause. This article briefly explores what is known about the mindset of the pseudocommando mass murderer and how he transforms his desire for revenge into a perverse sense of honor, which allows him to justify his actions.

On July 22, 2011, Norway experienced the immeasurable fallout from a pseudocommando whose perverted sense of honor and grandiose narcissism obliterated more than 70 innocent people. Anders Behring Breivik, a 32-year-old Norwegian extremist perpetrated a dual attack in Norway: the bombing of government buildings in Oslo that resulted in 8 deaths, and the mass shooting at a camp of the Workers’ Youth League of the Labour Party on the island of Utoya where he killed 69, most of whom were teenagers.³ Breivik composed a 1492-page manifesto he published hours before his attack.⁴ He was apprehended alive, and his mental state was being examined as this article was being written. After his capture, Breivik requested to be evaluated by Japanese mental health experts because “the Japanese understand the concept of honor better than the Europeans [emphasis added].”

Research

Mass killings by such individuals are not new. The news media tend to suggest that the era of mass public killings began in the 1960s, ushered in by Charles Whitman atop the University of Texas at Austin tower, and henceforward became “a part of American life in recent decades.⁵” But research suggests that news media have heavily influenced the public perception of mass murder—particularly the inaccurate assertion that its incidence is increasing.⁶ It is typically the high-profile cases that represent the most widely publicized yet least representative mass killings.

The research on pseudocommandos suggests that they are driven by strong feelings of anger and resentment, in addition to having paranoid character traits. Dietz² described these individuals as “collectors of injustice” who hold onto every perceived insult, amassing a pile of “evidence” that they have been grossly mistreated. To sustain the revenge “romance,” they must corral the unwanted, hated, or feared aspects of themselves. This collection is then re-assembled into the form of an “enemy” who “deserves” to be the target of a merciless, incendiary rage. Thus, the pseudocommando maintains object relations with others, which are heavily based on envy and splitting.

. . . as I’m rushing through my city, guns blazing, with 100 armed system protectors pursuing me . . . I know there is a 80%+ chance I am going to die during the operation. . . .

—Breivik¹

Mullen⁷ described the results of his detailed forensic evaluations of 5 pseudocommando mass murderers who were caught before they could kill themselves or be killed. Mullen noted that the massacres were often well planned out (ie, the offender did not suddenly “snap”): the offender arrived at the crime scene well-armed, often in camo or “warrior” gear. He appeared to be pursuing a highly personal agenda of “payback.” Mullen’s study also found a number of traits and historical factors that these individuals had in common: They were bullied or isolated as children and had become “loners” who felt despair over being socially excluded. They were also described as being resentful grudge holders who demonstrated obsessional or rigid traits. (The Table lists the most common traits that are observed in pseudocommandos.)

Narcissistic, grandiose traits were present, along with heavy use of externalization. They held a generally disparaging view of others, which resulted in spending a great deal of time ruminating on past humiliations. The ruminations evolved into fantasies of violent revenge, to the point that the offenders seemed to “welcome death,” even perceiving it as bringing them “fame” with an aura of power. Most of the literature references the pseudocommando’s motivation of revenge, which may be directed at a group (pseudocommunity) or representative ideology.^2,7,8

The revenge romance

He piled upon the whale’s hump the sum of all the general rage and hate . . . and then, as if his chest had been a mortar, he burst his hot heart’s shell upon it.

—Herman Melville, Moby Dick⁹

The desire for revenge “is a ubiquitous response to narcissistic injury.¹⁰” Greek mythology is replete with revenge themes.¹¹ Revenge is the central motive in at least 20 of Shakespeare’s plays and the main theme in many of today’s Hollywood movies (eg, the “Death Wish” series and, more recently, the “Kill Bill” series, which highlight our fascination with “the sweet taste of payback”).¹²Across almost every culture, the taking of revenge, when “justified,” has assumed “the status of a sacred obligation.¹³” In many cultures since biblical times and before, there has at least been the restraining notion of functional symmetry in seeking redress, such as the Old Testament’s admonition of “an eye for an eye.”

At this stage of our evolution, affronts to our self-esteem or narcissism are responded to as though they were a threat to our survival.¹⁴ We have maintained the physiological hard-wiring, available for excessive use in situations that do not involve survival of the body, but instead survival of the ego.¹⁵ In individuals with vulnerable, fragile (perhaps overly inflated) egos, threats to self-esteem may result in the harboring of destructive rage that eventually transforms them into avengers. Indeed, it is the frustration of the need to “preserve a solid sense of self,” that is often “the source of the most fanatical human violence [as well as] the everyday anger that all of us suffer.¹⁶”

However, this type of righteous anger is, in reality, a vainglorious pseudopower, because it is merely a reaction to intolerable feelings of powerlessness. Nevertheless, there comes a point when this pseudopower is the only defense the avenger has left to ward off the annihilation of his sense of self. This is why, when the potential avenger’s ego is threatened or hurt “in such a devastating way . . . the only thing that remains is to persist in the ‘unremitting denunciation of injustice.’” At this point, it becomes almost impossible for him to give up on the “crusade,” because there is a perverse honor in refusing to normalize the perceived injustice.¹⁷

Revealed here is the “hidden logic of the . . . avenger” to sustain a perverse and grandiose “refusal to compromise”; an insistence “against all odds” lest his “heroic” fantasy and fragile ego surrender to the reality of a “self” he finds intolerable.^16,17 The revenge fantasies are inflexible and persistent because they provide desperately needed sustenance to the ego. These fantasies may lead the avenger to “experience pleasure at imagining the suffering of the target and pride at being on the side of some spiritual primal justice.” The revenge fantasy gives the “illusion of strength,” and a temporary, although false, sense of restored control and self-coherence.¹⁸ The type of severe narcissistic rage experienced “serves the purpose of the preservation of the self” that has exceeded its limit of shame, alienation, and aversive self-awareness.¹⁴This pain and rage cannot be contained by the pseudocommando, who then embarks “on a course of self-destruction that transfers [his] pain to others.”

The revenge fantasy helps the pseudocommando obliterate an intolerable reality and aversive self-awareness. His rumination “dominates thought and impels action much as an addiction or erotomania does.¹¹” The avenger could be said to have “fallen” into romantic/idealized hate. Just as Captain Ahab believed he had been “dismasted” by the whale, he reached the final stages of narcissistic inaccessibility and plunged irretrievably into a downward spiral of reality-destroying nihilism. For those who progress to acting on their violent fantasies, they go beyond denying aversive self-awareness. By stepping across the threshold into an obliterative mindset, the pseudocommando bestows on himself a false authority. His judgment lacks any sense of symmetry, and “an eye for an eye soon gives way to a life for an eye.¹¹”

Obliteration for the glory of . . . me

Shakespeare’s Richard III is a classic example of a mind committed to revenge, driven by powerful grievance. His state of mind may be regarded as an “obliterative state of mind,” in that it functions to spread more grievance, destruction, and ultimately annihilation.¹⁹Individuals committed to revenge may come to embrace a self-styled image based on low self-esteem or negative self-perceptions that may be tinged with an ominous undertone. That is, they embrace their dark, negative cognitions and fashion them into a recognizable suit of “black” armor.

Persons driven by envy and destruction tend to see others “as in the light and [choose] to stay in the dark.¹⁹” In the case of Richard III, his inner envy and destructive narcissism lead him to consciously adopt the role of reprobate.²⁰

Toxic levels of “envy and narcissism . . . can fracture the personality, hold it hostage and in thrall, by being fuelled by triumph and contempt.” The developing pseudocommando must hold fast to his “hatred of anything such as growth, beauty, or humanity which is an advance over a bleak, static interior landscape.¹⁹” In addition, the pseudocommando may well harbor the notion that “Nature has done me a grievous wrong. . . . Life owes me reparation for this. . . . I may do wrong myself, since wrong has been done to me.²¹”

It is this feeling of being an exception to the rules, of being justified in harming others, that fuels the pseudocommando’s obliterative state of mind. Once he has embraced this mindset, “he cannot envision rescue from this commitment to a killing field externally or internally.¹⁹” The narcissistic injury that is utterly intolerable is “essentially nihilistic: nothing matters, all is despair. . . . all goodness and substance are obliterated, so that nothingness defines the domain.”

For some, the motivational trail may end with obliteration and annihilation. But for others, it is possible that the trail does not end here. For these individuals, there is more to revenge than annihilation. By their behavior and communications, they suggest that they are willing to die so as to not “lose” under any circumstances, their constructed, yet fragile, sense of self. It is not an option to submit or concede that his “heroic” sense of self is not righteous or transcendent. Indeed, to do so amounts to a humiliating, damning reality that exceeds death in its promise of torture.

For comparison, consider the genuine commando—the soldier—who has the notion that he or she may be dying for a greater cause outside of himself or herself. The vengeful pseudocommando must believe his cause is great as well, but in the case of the former, we have altruistic motivations focused on others. In the case of the latter, we see self-concerned motivation and grandiosity. What could be more grandiose than sacrificing oneself—for the glorification of oneself? The subtext would seem to be: “I’ll kill myself so I will never face losing my falsely constructed self—and, I’ll sacrifice many other people’s lives to get what I want.” But of course, in getting what he wants, he must plan, ruminate, and bide his time until he can abruptly go out in a contemptible flame. In doing so, he leaves behind a charred crater of voided humanity as testament to the depth of his self-centeredness.

Future directions

Regarding prevention, the sobering reality is that such events are extremely hard to anticipate and thwart.²² Retrospectively, one sometimes discovers “windows” of opportunity that if taken advantage of, may possibly have represented chances to avoid the tragedy. Such windows may take the form of family members or social contacts who take steps to have the potential pseudocommando evaluated and treated.²³ In terms of media response, it is important to have a thoughtful set of reporting guidelines. For example, it has been suggested that news media should avoid glorifying the perpetrator and not disclose his methods or number of victims killed.²⁴ Rather, media should emphasize victim and community recovery efforts and deflect attention away from the perpetrator.

One promising avenue of future research includes studying and understanding the presence of “identification warning behaviors” that may appear and suggest impending or accelerating risk.²⁵

Hempel and colleagues²⁶ were among the first to note that pseudocommandos will often “convey their central motivation in a psychological abstract, a phrase or sentence yelled with great emotion at the beginning of the mass murder.” To date, the actual communications of the pseudocommando mass murderer have received little detailed analysis.^8,27 The study of both pre-offense (ie, leaked) and after-the-fact communications may assist in gaining insight into the psychology of the pseudocommando that can inform preventive efforts. Risk assessments of individuals with strong revenge fantasies will have to consider the intensity and quality of the revenge fantasies, vulnerability to ego threats, and relevant biopsychosocial risk variables.¹⁵

References
1. Oslo Terrorist Anders Behring Breivik Manifesto. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=89a_1311444384. Accessed December 12, 2011.
2. Dietz PE. Mass, serial and sensational homicides. Bull N Y Acad Med. 1986;62:477-491.
3. MinnPost.com. Norway attacks: What happens if Brievik is deemed insane? http://www.minnpost.com/worldcsm/2011/08/03/30524norway_attacks_what_happens_if_breivik_is_deemed_insane. Accessed December 12, 2011.
4. 2083: A European Declaration of Independence. https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0BwZX2bK7Uc5dY2ExYzc4YjctMDJlZC00M2QzLTk5NDUtNDhiMDhmMzhkZWQ4&hl=en_US. Accessed December 12, 2011.
5. The Associated Press. Mass public shootings on the rise, but why? While some see connection to guns, others blame erosion of community. April 21, 2007. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18249724. Accessed December 12, 2011.
6. Duwe G. A circle of distortion: the social construction of mass murder in the United States. West Criminol Rev. 2005;6:59-78.
7. Mullen PE. The autogenic (self-generated) massacre. Behav Sci Law. 2004;22:311-323.
8. Knoll JL 4th . The “pseudocommando” mass murder: part I, the psychology of revenge and obliteration. J Am Acad Psychiatry Law. 2010;38:87-94.
9. Melville H. Moby Dick. London: Random House UK; 2007:chap 41.
10. LaFarge L. The wish for revenge. Psychoanal Q. 2006;75:447-475.
11. Rosen IC. Revenge—the hate that dare not speak its name: a psychoanalytic perspective. J Am Psychoanal Assoc. 2007;55:595-620.
12. Cargill CR. Revenge is a dish best served cold. August 30, 2007. http://www.film.com/features/story/revenge-dish-best-served-cold/16169619. Accessed December 12, 2011.
13. Watson L. Dark Nature: A Natural History of Evil. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc; 1995.
14. Menninger WW. Uncontained rage: a psychoanalytic perspective on violence. Bull Menninger Clin. 2007;71:115-131.
15. Baumeister RF, Smart L, Boden JM. Relation of threatened egotism to violence and aggression: the dark side of high self-esteem. Psychol Rev. 1996;103:5-33.
16. Leifer R. Vinegar Into Honey: Seven Steps to Understanding and Transforming Anger, Aggression, and Violence. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications; 2008.
17. Zizek S. Violence: Six Sideways Reflections. New York: Picador; 2008.
18. Horowitz MJ. Understanding and ameliorating revenge fantasies in psychotherapy. Am J Psychiatry. 2007;164:24-27.
19. Anderson MK. The death of a mind: a study of Shakespeare’s Richard III. J Anal Psychol. 2006;51:701-716.
20. Shakespeare W. The Tragedy of King Richard III. http://etext.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/MobRic3.html. Accessed December 12, 2011.
21. Freud S. The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud. Vol 14. Strachey J, trans-ed. Toronto: The Hogarth Press, Ltd; 1981:314-315.
22. Saleva O, Putkonen H, Kiviruusu O, Lönnqvist J. Homicide-suicide—an event hard to prevent and separate from homicide or suicide. Forensic Sci Int. 2007;166:204-208.
23. Orange R. Anders Behring Breivik’s sister warned mother about his behaviour two years ago. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/norway/8934136/Anders-Behring-Breiviks-sister-warned-mother-about-his-behaviour-two-years-ago.html. Accessed December 12, 2011.
24. Preti A. School shooting as a culturally enforced way of expressing suicidal hostile intentions. J Am Acad Psychiatry Law. 2008;36:544-550.
25. Meloy JR, Hoffmann J, Guldimann A, James D. The role of warning behaviors in threat assessment: an exploration and suggested typology. Behav Sci Law. August 24, 2011. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/bsl.999/abstract?systemMessage=Wiley+Online+Library+will+be+unavailable+17+Dec+from+10-13+GMT+for+IT+maintenance. Accessed December 13, 2011.
26. Hempel AG, Meloy JR, Richards TC. Offender and offense characteristics of a nonrandom sample of mass murderers. J Am Acad Psychiatry Law. 1999;27:213-225.
27. Knoll JL 4th. The “pseudocommando” mass murder: part II, the language of revenge. J Am Acad Psychiatry Law. 2010;38:263-272.

Breivik Trial News Review - 3:23 PM 4/18/2012

via Forensic Psychiatry News by Mike Nova on 4/18/12

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Anders Behring Breivik attacks inspired by Serbian nationalists, court hears - The Guardian

via anders behring breivik - Google News on 4/18/12

The Guardian

Anders Behring Breivik attacks inspired by Serbian nationalists, court hears
The Guardian
Last summer's attacks on Norway were inspired by "Serb nationalists", Anders Behring Breivik has told a court in Olso as he attempted to distance himself from the "old school" of rightwing extremism propagated by the Nazis. Giving evidence for a second ...
Anders Behring Breivik wants death penalty or acquittalBoston Herald
Anders Behring Breivik wants acquittal or death penaltyBBC News
Norway's Breivik resists prosecution's attempts to delve into his pastChristian Science Monitor

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Breivik wants freedom or death for massacre - Atlanta Journal Constitution

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The Nelson Mail

Breivik wants freedom or death for massacre
Atlanta Journal Constitution
Accused Norwegian Anders Behring Breivik gestures on arrival at the courtroom, in Oslo, Norway, Wednesday April 18, 2012. Breivik has five days to explain why he detonated a bomb outside government headquarters in Oslo, killing eight people, ...
Norway mass killer complains of being ridiculedThe Nelson Mail
Global News RoundupThe Zimbabwean

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Breivik wants death penalty or acquittal - Seattle Post Intelligencer

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Breivik wants death penalty or acquittal
Seattle Post Intelligencer
KARL RITTER, AP Accused Norwegian Anders Behring Breivik gestures on arrival at the courtroom, in Oslo, Norway, Wednesday April 18, 2012. Breivik has five days to explain why he detonated a bomb outside government headquarters in Oslo, killing eight ...

Norway's mass killer demands acquittal or death - Times LIVE

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Times LIVE

Norway's mass killer demands acquittal or death
Times LIVE
Defendant Anders Behring Breivik listens to his lawyer Geir Lippestad (L), during the first day of his trial in Oslo, April 16, 2012. The terrorism and murder trial against Norwegian mass killer Anders Behring Breivik, who has confessed to the bomb and ...
'Execute me or set me free'Herald Sun

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Prosecution casts doubt on Breivik network claim - BBC News

via Google News on 4/18/12

BBC News

Prosecution casts doubt on Breivik network claim
BBC News
Anders Breivik, who admits killing 77 people in Norway last summer, has been questioned in court over his alleged links with other far-right extremists. Anders Breivik told the court that he belonged to a group called the Knights Templar, which had met ...

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Anders Breivik: The First Step to Mass Murder Is a Belief in Good and Evil - Huffington Post (blog)

via Google News on 4/18/12

Anders Breivik: The First Step to Mass Murder Is a Belief in Good and Evil
Huffington Post (blog)
The day before, they were eating ice cream. They were sitting in the sunshine, in the clearing between the pine trees, gazing up at a blue, blue sky. They were laughing, and joking, and looking, if they were girls, at the boys they liked, and looking, ...

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Death or freedom says Breivik - The Age

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The Age

Death or freedom says Breivik
The Age
ANDERS Behring Breivik, charged with killing 77 people in twin attacks in Norway last July, yesterday rebuffed intense questioning about his claimed links to an anti-Muslim militant group as prosecutors tried to prove such networks don't exist.

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Norway mass killer Anders Behring Breivik wants death penalty or acquittal - CBS News

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The Guardian (blog)

Norway mass killer Anders Behring Breivik wants death penalty or acquittal
CBS News
(AP) OSLO, Norway - Norway's prison terms are "pathetic," confessed mass killer Anders Behring Breivik declared Wednesday in court, claiming the death penalty or a full acquittal were the "only logical outcomes" for his massacre of 77 people.
Anders Behring Breivik trial, day three - live updatesThe Guardian (blog)
Anders Behring Breivik calls for acquittal or death penaltyBBC News
Video: Anders Behring Breivik: 'I would have done it again'Montreal Gazette
Ottawa Citizen -Washington Post
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Prosecutors press Breivik on 'Knights Templar' - BlueRidgeNow.com

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Prosecutors press Breivik on 'Knights Templar'
BlueRidgeNow.com
By KARL RITTER AP Confessed mass killer Anders Behring Breivik's claims of belonging to a secret anti-Muslim militia appeared to crack Wednesday, as he acknowledged the supposed crusader network is "not an organization in a conventional sense.

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Anders Behring Breivik's court statement 'an explanation not a speech', says ... - The Guardian

via anders behring breivik - Google News on 4/18/12

Anders Behring Breivik's court statement 'an explanation not a speech', says ...
The Guardian
After day two of Anders Behring Breivik's trial, defence lawyer Geir Lippestad explains the importance of allowing the killer to give his statement to the court. Prosecutor Inga Bejer Engh says they could make use of what was said in the statement in ...

Breivik: a monster made by multiculturalism - Telegraph.co.uk (blog)

via anders behring breivik - Google News on 4/18/12

Breivik: a monster made by multiculturalism
Telegraph.co.uk (blog)
By Brendan O'Neill Politics Last updated: April 18th, 2012 The dark irony in Anders Behring Breivik's courtoom ranting about multiculturalism is that his own worldview is riddled with that divisive ideology. Breivik poses as a one-man army against the ...

Death or acquittal 'only logical outcomes' for massacre, Breivik says - Globe and Mail

via Google News on 4/18/12

Death or acquittal 'only logical outcomes' for massacre, Breivik says
Globe and Mail
Oslo— AP Norway's prison terms are “pathetic,” confessed mass killer Anders Behring Breivik declared Wednesday in court, claiming the death penalty or a full acquittal were the “only logical outcomes” for his massacre of 77 people.

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Norwegian monster had 'English mentor' - The Sun

via Google News on 4/18/12

The Sun

Norwegian monster had 'English mentor'
The Sun
NORWEGIAN monster Anders Breivik had an “English mentor called Richard” who he met at a Knights Templar meeting in London, a court heard today. The killer was allegedly among four right-wing fanatics who conspired on May 2, 2002, ...

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Logical punishment for massacre is death or acquittal, Breivik says - Globe and Mail

via Google News on 4/18/12

Globe and Mail

Logical punishment for massacre is death or acquittal, Breivik says
Globe and Mail
Oslo— AP Confessed mas killer Anders Behring Breivik says the logical punishment for his massacre of 77 people would be either the death penalty or an acquittal. Mr. Breivik says the maximum prison term in Norway of 21 years is “pathetic.

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Luton hits back at 'nutter' Breivik - The Press Association

via Google News on 4/18/12

Luton hits back at 'nutter' Breivik
The Press Association
Luton residents have hit back at slurs on their town by mass killer Anders Breivik, dismissing him as a "nutter". Addressing the Norwegian court where he is on trial for the massacre of 77 people, Breivik reportedly described "war-like conditions" in ...

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via anders behring breivik - YouTube on 4/18/12

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