In Sentencing Anders Breivik, Norway, Unlike the U.S.A., Shows Itself to Be Saner than Him

Some people in the U.S.A. seem to be shocked that Anders Breivik, who massacred 77 people last year, has been sentenced to 21 years in prison - a shorter sentence than U.S. courts give for some nonviolent crimes.

This is because the U.S. “criminal justice” system is based on a philosophy of despair, a desire for revenge and a denial of the possibility of redemption.

Breivik’s sentence is unusually severe for a Western European nation; in fact it is the most severe that the law...