January 13th, 2012
11:24 AM ET

Suspect in Norway killings faces new sanity test

The man accused of killing 77 people in Norway last summer will undergo a new psychiatric evaluation, justice officials said Friday, after an earlier test found him to be insane.

Judge Wenche Elizabeth Arntzen told reporters Friday that the court wanted a second opinion because of the importance of the question of his sanity to Anders Behring Breivik's trial, due to start in April.

This was not a criticism of the previous report, she said.

Breivik has been assigned two new psychiatrists to carry out the evaluation, court spokesman Geir Engebretsen told CNN.

The decision follows requests from the families of some of the victims, amid wide public debate in Norway over the initial psychiatric report, he said.

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soundoff (30 Responses)
  1. chrissy

    I did NOT disregard that *fact*! I just believe 77 is an extremely large number of dead people and there should be no margin of error that may possibly allow him the ability to do this again!

    January 13, 2012 at 2:48 pm | Report abuse |
  2. chrissy

    Who says he wont ever be out free either?? No one ever thought the attempted assasson of Ronald Reagan would be out free either but here he is! And seeing as this is an *opinion blog* that gives me the right to voice mine just as it does you!

    January 13, 2012 at 2:54 pm | Report abuse |
    • Andy

      I'm not saying he won't. It's up to experts who can actually make informed judgments about his mental state. Who better to make those judgments?? You? You seem to be implying that even though a team of experts found him to be insane, we'd better hold him accountable and lock him in prison, just to be safe. That is not the way a just and civilized society treats its mentally ill. And I never said you don't have a right to voice your opinion. But at least recognize that you have no facts about his mental state and probably no training in evaluating his mental health even if you did have them. So, if you want to say, "OK, my opinion is completely uninformed, but here it is anyway", go right ahead.

      January 13, 2012 at 3:03 pm | Report abuse |
    • Epsilon

      I say he wont be out free. He will be locked in for the security of society and himself, by law. And I would believe there is a "little" difference between an attempted assanisation and killing 77 people... just a little.

      January 17, 2012 at 4:44 pm | Report abuse |
  3. chrissy

    And i do have enough compassion to know an insane person should not be put in a prison, but they do need to be monitored quite closely especially those with crimminal pasts, to make sure they take their meds and dont repeat priors!

    January 13, 2012 at 3:02 pm | Report abuse |
  4. chrissy

    @ andy, i CLEARLY stated NOT prison. And i never said i was an expert, an i dont feel anything is wrong with another team of proffessionals, whether it be l,2, or even 3 more diagnoses! Better that than find out the lst batch were bought!

    January 13, 2012 at 3:34 pm | Report abuse |
  5. World citizen 34323188534978

    "In Fact, it is the fully sane person who feels isolated in the insane society- and he may suffer so much from the incapacity to communicate that it is he who may become psychotic." – Some Guy

    January 13, 2012 at 3:38 pm | Report abuse |
    • banasy©

      "In fact, the person who feels he is the only sane person in the world is probbably most likely the insane one." Some Girl

      January 13, 2012 at 4:09 pm | Report abuse |
  6. chrissy

    @ world citizen, sometimes too much quality time with *sane* people can drive someone to insanity also! Does that give them the right to plan out with a great deal of precision to murder?? Hell no!

    January 13, 2012 at 3:49 pm | Report abuse |
    • banasy©

      @chrissy:
      Word.

      January 13, 2012 at 4:13 pm | Report abuse |
  7. banasy©

    When these people are decalered sane, won't they be tried for their crimes?

    January 13, 2012 at 4:58 pm | Report abuse |
  8. chrissy

    Ty banasy lol thought i might go *insane* for a min! Lol

    January 13, 2012 at 5:00 pm | Report abuse |
  9. chrissy

    Ummm nope banasy! That would be double jeopardy as they have already been tried, and not convicted by reason of insanity! Cannot be tried for the same crime twice! Good enough reason to buy you a team of experts wouldnt you agree?

    January 13, 2012 at 5:05 pm | Report abuse |
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