Prison Talk

[t-man]

My point is I would gladly live 5 or 8 years in (a Norwegian) prison if that cured my ears (not if I had to have T during the stay though, double torture!)

I would just read, write and work out and listen to music for 8 years.

Prisons are caged rape brothels, dude.

 

[Erlend]

Prisons are caged rape brothels, dude.

Not in Norway

 

[Markku]

Not in Norway

I think your prisons look even better than what we have in Finland. And I thought we had really "high quality" prisons.

Insane to think that Anders Breivik is spending his time in a room like that?

 

[Erlend]

Yep. And he keeps complaining about the food being too late and his pen being uncomfortable. He's a joke

 

[VelvetFont]

@

Not in Norway

That looks like my dorm room when I studied abroad in the UK, but bigger... and with TV.

 

[Erlend]

@

That looks like my dorm room when I studied abroad in the UK, but bigger... and with TV.

Oh yeah, you get to study for a university degree (incl exams) for free. Breivik is doing this...

 

[meeruf]

Insane to think that Anders Breivik is spending his time in a room like that?

Not really. He is still isolated from all other prisoners. He never talks with anybody, except the prison staff and the priest. He can't do anything. He just sits there with his rubber pen and TV. Solitary confinement can be torture, a nice room really don't matter. That prison room @Erlend sent is from a much nicer and newer prison. Breivik is not in that prison.

This is Breivik's "training room":

And this is his "office":

Not really luxury.

Edit:
There is a myth that the prisons in Norway are so nice and comfortable. This is not necessarily true. We have a lot of old prisons that was build way back in 20th century. I actually think we have some prisons from the end of 19th century too. This is places you don't want to end up. Isolation is crap, and in the winter the rooms gets cold etc.

We have 2-3 prisons that are new, and maybe a little to nice. But this prisons are intended for long time prisoners serving their last part of their sentence. To prepare them for society again. We have to do something right, because we have one of the lowest re-incarceration rates in the world.

 

[Markku]

@meeruf
I'd go crazy in solitary confinement. Definitely not luxury. Do you know if he is going to spend the rest of his sentence in solitary, or is it possible he'll see some leniency in a few years and be allowed to mingle with the other prisoners?

I guess this serves him right. I'd rather be put to death than be confided in a box for decades. If I recall correctly, he can spend more than 21 years in prison (basically indefinitely, or as long as he's deemed a danger to the society?)

Then again, nothing will make up for the 70+ lives he took.

 

[meeruf]

@meeruf
I'd go crazy in solitary confinement. Definitely not luxury. Do you know if he is going to spend the rest of his sentence in solitary, or is it possible he'll see some leniency in a few years and be allowed to mingle with the other prisoners?

I guess this serves him right. I'd rather be put to death than be confided in a box for decades. If I recall correctly, he can spend more than 21 years in prison (basically indefinitely, or as long as he's deemed a danger to the society?)

Then again, nothing will make up for the 70+ lives he took.

The problem with letting him out to the rest of the prison population is that a lot of prisoners want to kill him, and I'm sure someone would do too. They keep him in solitary confinement to protect him. Not as a punishment.

Yes, maximum punishment is 21 years in Norway. But we have detention. I think they're just going to renew his detention every ten years. Until he dies. No one will dare to label him as "safe for society" again. If someone did, and he got out. He would be killed quite fast anyways I think. A new identity would not help him, everyone in Norway knows how he look.

I wonder if he got tinnitus? I mean, he killed 69 people on that island with a gun and a riffle. I seriously doubt that he used earplugs?

I think in some years. We will read in the newspaper that he took suicide.

 

[Erlend]

They did search for non-prisoners that could play bandy and basket with him lol. Dno if they got anyone to volunteer.

 

[daedalus]

I have lived in way worse than Breivik's cage. And with the neighbourhood i had i wished i was in solitary confinement. Even now i do not have enough room to have a training cycle. Frankly i am surprised people don't flog to Norway to commit mass murders with these pictures.

There was the case of these Somali pirates who were jailed in some Asian country and asked to be kept in prison after their sentence. Because their living condition in prison there were better than freedom in Somalia. They had high praise for the prison cuisine. I think it was south Korea.

 

[meeruf]

I have lived in way worse than Breivik's cage. And with the neighbourhood i had i wished i was in solitary confinement. Even now i do not have enough room to have a training cycle. Frankly i am surprised people don't flog to Norway to commit mass murders with these pictures.

There was the case of these Somali pirates who were jailed in some Asian country and asked to be kept in prison after their sentence. Because their living condition in prison there were better than freedom in Somalia. They had high praise for the prison cuisine. I think it was south Korea.

Lets do some comparison. The US prison are harsh, violent, overpopulated and infected by gangs. It's a place you really don't want to end up, they also have the death penalty. The US have 6 murders per 100.000, Norway has 0.6 murders per 100.000. That is ten times less. In 2009 the US incarcerated 743 per 100.000 citizen. Norway, 71 per 100.000. That is also ten times less.

Even tho the prisons in Norway are "nice". We only have a 20% recidivism. While the harsh prisons in the US have 50-60% recidivism. That is interesting because since we arrest much less people, that means that in Norway its just the really bad guys that goes to prison. Still we have much lower recidivism.

I suggest you take the emotional aspect out of how you feel prisons should be like. You can't really argue with those numbers, and still be rational.

 

[daedalus]

Oh one can argue and stay rational.

US and Norway are whole different societies. You cannot explain the differences in criminality/reoffend rates mostly by the penitential policy. I do not believe that magically swapping the US and Norvegian prisons would swap their crime rates. There are a zillion of factors.

I am not advocating anyone importing the US policy on that matter, just pointing out that for a lot of people in the world, Breivick's life conditions seem to be an improvement over theirs.

People focus on penal policy while totally overlooking the intelligence factor: A well informed police will get a higher proportion of the criminals and thus will have a better deterrent effect. Heavy handed punishment serve no purpose if criminals are convinced they are going to escape it. But if they think they have a high risk of getting caught, they will hesitate. Also in places where people are more isolated, lonely ore less united the more aggressive people will feel stronger amongst weaker "prey" people, etc..

I think these kind of factors (and unemployment rates, and education...) are more important factors than the penal policy.

But i digress.