The Trial

The trial at the District Court of Oslo, Norway, against mass-murderer A.B.B. started yesterday.

A.B.B. confessed to having killed 77 people by setting off a car bomb at government headquarters in Oslo on July 22 2011 and them going on a shooting spree at a summer youth camp at the island of Utøya. However he pleaded not guilty because the acts were justified as he acted in defense of his countrymen who were in peril from Islamist supremacy and multicultural influences supported by the Norwegian political establishment.


The trial is expected to go on for 10 weeks or more, as it seems that the defense attorney Geir Lippestad has bought in to the defendants strange view of the world and is - very surprisingly - being allowed by the court to bring evidence to support it.

 Photograph: Heiko Junge/AP

The self-confessed mass-murderer was unmoved as the prosecutors stated the specific circumstances of 119 persons killed or wounded by his acts but was moved to tears when watching the video he produced and posted on YouTube shortly before going on his rampage.
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Nothing at all unexpected in this case yet, but my reactions to it surprise me. I am indifferent and disengaged, I will keep on following it I am sure, but will not post much.

Defender - An Important Democratic Function

 

The renowned Norwegian lawyer Geir Lippestad has been appointed as public defender for Anders Behring Breivik. He has accepted the task, after due deliberation and discussions with his family and friends.

For accepting this appointment Lippestad has received scorn, contempt and even death threats from parts of the general public - and parts of the media as well - who do not seem to understand the important role of a defender in a democratic state and for the rule of law.

In every democratic legal system everyone who commits a crime is considered innocent - at least by the state if not the general public and the media - until proven guilty in a trial.

All democratic legal system also apply the adversary process of trial in which the prosecutor and the defendant (mostly trough his defense lawyer) compete to convince the court (or in some cases the judge or the jury) of the guilt or innocence of the defendant and what a suitable sentence should be according to law.

The prosecutor has the burden of proof, it is the defense lawyers task to see to it that the prosecutor fulfills his task and that the court before passing judgment is made aware of any facts or circumstances that are beneficial for the defendant.

Through this process we try to avoid condemning someone for a crime they have not committed and that we have convincing evidence - beyond a reasonable doubt - when we do find someone guilty of a crime and sentence them to serve an appropriate punishment.

It is always important that we bear in mind that the role of the defender is to defend the alleged criminal, not the crime.