'Sane' Breivik Gets 21 Years

Norway reaffirms commitment to multiculturalism in wake of attacks
By Mark Russell,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 24, 2012 4:09 AM CDT
Updated Aug 24, 2012 7:00 AM CDT
'Sane' Breivik Sentenced to 21 Years
Anders Behring Breivik, makes a salute after arriving at an Oslo court room today. Breivik was convicted today of terrorism and premeditated murder for bomb and gun attacks that killed 77 people.   (AP Photo/Heiko Junge / NTB scanpix, Pool)

Anders Behring Breivik was found sane by a Norwegian court today and sentenced to the nation's maximum punishment: 21 years in prison, reports CNN. Prosecutors had asked the court to find Breivik insane, which would have sent him to a secure mental health facility, but the five-judge panel unanimously decided otherwise. The killer had a slight smile on his face when the sentence was announced. Breivik killed 77 people, mostly teenagers, just over a year ago in a gun and bomb rampage in Oslo and on Utoya Island.

Breivik, 33, insisted he was sane and an "ultranationalist," who killed his victims to fight against multiculturalism and the "Islamization" of Norway. In the wake of his massacre, Norway has mostly reasserted its commitment to multiculturalism. Breivik will serve a minimum of 10 years, including the time he has already served, in Norway's famously lenient prison system. The sentence could be extended, potentially indefinitely, if he's still considered a threat to society when his term ends. Norway does not have the death penalty. Click to read about the three-room cell he'll occupy. (More Anders Behring Breivik stories.)

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