Norwegian disbelief at Breivik 'insanity' (BBC)

[eppur_se_muova]

By Liss Goril Anda
Norwegian journalist

The Norwegian public, politicians and experts alike are expressing surprise at the verdict of the forensic psychiatrists assessing Anders Behring Breivik.

Many psychiatrists were quoted by the news media ahead of Tuesday's announcement as saying that he was likely to be deemed sane.

Breivik himself has said he found the verdict insulting and that although he had feared it, he had not expected this outcome.

The Norwegian media's general use of the term schizophrenic also fails to match their portrayal of Breivik. This makes it hard for people to understand how the verdict was reached, triggering concerns that he is "getting away lightly".

The media have given minute descriptions of how Breivik spent years planning his attacks. His ability to do so makes it difficult for many people to accept that he cannot be held to account for them.
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more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-15954370

[muriel_volestrangler]

1. It'll be interesting to see the reaction of the right-wing bloggers that he got ideas from

Effectively, they are just as paranoid as he is - they think there is an Islamist conspiracy to take over Europe, and so on. They just haven't acted on it in a violent way. But neither he nor they, as far as I know, have delusions about being under surveillance, attack etc. personally. Is his willingness to murder because of his beliefs a symptom of schizophrenia? You might say, I suppose, that it shows a loss of touch with reality - a complete lack of perspective. Can anyone with psychiatric knowledge say if that would be part of the diagnosis?

[Pacifist Patriot]

2. As someone who has a little bit of experience with the mentally ill....

The press is not where you want to go for information about either mental illness or how it relates to legal proceedings.

I was closely involved in a murder case where the accused was found incompetent to stand trial. The details of the crime reported in the media gave the impression of someone who knew exactly what she was doing. On-line commentary from readers jumping to conclusions supported that, so when she was declared mentally incompetent people were astounded. Personally, I knew she should have been institutionalized years ago, but our mental health system in the U.S. is utter rubbish.

Can someone plan attacks for years and still be mentally incompetent in legal terms. Heck yes!

Could the forensic psychiatrists be wrong? Of course.

But I've learned from personal experience that if I don't have a front row seat it is not within my ability to second-guess psychiatric determinations.

Psychiatrists who aren't personally involved should know better than to speculate to the press and the press should get over their flawed predictions.