October 28, 2004
The End of Personal Responsibility
The time of personal responsibility has passed. No longer will you have to admit fault or recognize that the error or mistake lies within you, and not within the stars or some other silly excuse. In a development in Norway which I am sure will be reproduced as soon as possible in the United States, it has become impossible to imprison the "
mentally ill", whatever that means.
A Stavanger man convicted 25 times and with 70 offences on the books since his last conviction may be able to sue for damages thanks to new laws. The man has now been diagnosed as 'extremely mentally handicapped' since 1992, and should have received treatment rather than prison time.
The man's defense counsel, John Christian Elden, has filed to reopen cases involving 19 convictions since 1992.
District attorney Tormod Haugnes told newspaper Stavanger Aftenbladet that authorities have little choice but to acquit since it is not possible to imprison the mentally handicapped.
"New rules give him the right to commit crimes for the rest of his life, without punishment," Haugnes told the paper. "This is the most extreme result of the new penal code, where preventive detention is replaced with custody and compulsory treatment."
Elden told Aftenbladet that his client could demand compensation for the unjustified imprisonment for the seven to eight years he served for the convictions, and said the damages could likely amount to millions of crowns.
Please tell me that I am not the only one who thinks that this is outrageous, especially considering how easy it can be to manipulate the mental health system.
Posted by: Random Penseur at
07:53 AM
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Hmmm...
While I sort of agree that this is eliminating the need for personal liability, I don't think it's the blank check to go on a crime spending spree, necessarily. Personally, I do feel that it is up to the penal sytem to be able to evaluate and treat criminals as well-one of the basic principles of a penal system is to be as a rehabilitation and a deterrant. So the government does have the responsibility to treat the people it is trying to rehabilitate.
In my mind, anyone who is able to perpetrate certain offenses-murder, crimes against children, repeat offenders-are quite likely mentally ill, and do most likely need treatment. If governments aren't willing to accept that some inmates need treatment, they'd better be prepared to see said inmates again and again.
That said, I don't see that the former inmates have the ability to go for damages in the millions of crowns area, I do agree that's outrageous, but I do think that they should be given access to state mental health care.
And from someone who was in the mental health care system in Scandinavia, let me tell you-it is NOT easy to manipulate the system. And I lived in the most tolerant of the countries, where they like to give prisoners a little bit of jail time and a good cuddle before letting them go again.
Posted by: Helen at October 28, 2004 09:23 AM (DCpYG)
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I don't believe that legislation would ever come across the ocean, especially to the US. North Americans tend to be more of the "lock 'em up, so I don't have to look at 'em" mentality. In Canada at least, the criminals get a good education and come out with all sorts of new concepts on committing crime. We also tend to let the mentally ill roam the streets, because the lack of allocation of funding for those types of institutions.
Posted by: Oorgo at October 28, 2004 11:04 AM (lM0qs)
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If you haven't already seen it, there's a good piece
at OpinionJournal today on related initiative efforts to dilute California's three-strikes law. I suspect the thing won't pass, as Gov. Terminator is now doing ads against it.
In the US, these issues are, and rightly should be, part of the political process, and features which I don't believe the Europeans have, like the initiative and the recall, influence policy in these areas. I've read now and then -- but have never seen comprehensive analysis -- that the European democracies don't have a number of features that allow the majority to express itself in areas like taxation and capital punishment, to name two issues.
Posted by: John Bruce at October 28, 2004 02:26 PM (qHtTC)
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I suspect they want to keep them out of jail so they won't be unduly influenced by the strippers they provide the other prisoners.
Posted by: ivan at October 29, 2004 10:05 AM (A27TY)
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Gee, thoughtful comments, one and all. I enjoyed reading them even if I lack the time to reply to you all. Thanks!
Posted by: RP at October 30, 2004 12:22 PM (LlPKh)
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October 26, 2004
Munch Museum Robbery Update
The update is, well, there is still no news, no leads, and the museum itself remains closed. As we previously discussed
here and
here, Aftenposten
reports:
"We ain't got squat", said the police. Ok, they didn't really say that, but it amounts to the same thing. They are no closer to solving the robbery or returning the paintings now then they were back in August when the robbery took place.
I am not filled with hope or optimism, at this point.
Posted by: Random Penseur at
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This is really sad. I wonder what the thieves hope to gain...to keep the pictures, well they can't benefit finacially from that, they won't be able to show family and friends unless they can guarantee their silence, and there has been no attempt made at ransoming them has there? Just some fool who has no better way of making a name for himself I guess.
Posted by: Rachel Ann at October 28, 2004 01:20 AM (CrUiC)
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This was a tragedy.
My favorite Munch painting, the Madonna, was one of the two stolen. Its lines undulate along with her body, radiating dark colors contrast with bloodless skin.
Unfortunately, there's often a large profit for those who steal paintings: there's a black market for anything, especially for art and antiques.
The Isabella Stuart Gardener museum in Boston, by far the most beautiful museum I've ever seen (it's in her home, a gorgeous 19th century reproduction of an Italian villa) still has blank spaces with cards noting the too-numerous renaissance masterpieces that were stolen a few years ago.
Posted by: emily at October 30, 2004 12:52 PM (n4KpH)
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October 22, 2004
Norwegian Law Enforcement: Strippers and Help to Find Drugs
Story #1
According to this article:
a Norwegian prisoner secretly hired an exotic dancer to spice up the prison's monthly culture night. The woman got all her clothes off, to the cheers of the male inmates, before guards could react on Wednesday night at the Hof minimum security prison in southern Norway.
When they come for me, and they will, remind me that I want to serve my time in Norway, will you?
Story #2
From Jan, at Secular Blasphemy (which I recommend checking out in general), we have the story of a drug courier who forgot where he buried his stash and, concerned that the dealer would get to him, called the police to ask them to help him find it!
My guess is that the guy might have heard about stripper night at the local prison.
UPDATE:
At least the drug idiot in Norway knew what he was doing. Here in the US, our drug idiots appear to be much stupider. Here we have the heartwarming story of Vicki Lynn Nunnery, 43, of Callaway, Florida who dialed 911 by mistake, hung up the phone, and was later arrested when the police came to investigate the disconnected call (as they do in case someone was hurt) and discovered "one the largest methamphetamine laboratories ever found in Bay County". D'oh!
Posted by: Random Penseur at
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Discrimination! That's what it is! Where's the prison where they serve chocolate, give you unlimited time in the bathtub and have daily massages!
Posted by: Rachel Ann at October 23, 2004 03:41 PM (fj3tO)
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October 19, 2004
The Slurpee Machine was Broken
I was so amused by
this story in Aftenposten about a murderer and rapist escaping from jail and then turning himself in so I had to supply my own answer to the question of why the convict turned himself in. Clearly, he could not get a slurpee.
Seriously, how soft must life be in a Norwegian jail if a convict calls the police from a 7-11 to come get him after a successful escape? As some of you may know, there was a point in 1999 when the Norwegian Supreme Court government refused to extradite a convicted drug smuggler from Norway to the US because it was felt that the US prisons were too harsh.
Posted by: Random Penseur at
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