Norway tragedy...

Rehabilitation would be a major consideration in sentencing the murderer, assuming that he's found guilty, rather than not guilty by reason of insanity.

State Police Director Øystein Mæland has become the first casualty of this week’s scathingly critical report on how Norwegian police failed to efficiently respond to last year’s terrorist attacks in Norway. Mæland announced his resignation just as leaders of Norway’s political parties were launching a debate of their own over the report on Thursday night.

Norway’s home-grown confessed terrorist Anders Behring Breivik knew what he was doing when he killed 77 persons in and around Oslo on July 22 last year, the city court in Oslo ruled on Friday. The court, finding Breivik sane at the time of his murderous rampage, sentenced him to Norway’s longest prison term of 21 years, with a provision that can allow him to be held in custody for the rest of his life.

treadmill and a computer

"The idea is to increase contacts with the prison staff who are tasked with keeping him active, doing physical exercise with him, talking to him," Ms Bjercke told the Associated Press news agency. "Isolation is torture."

"I like to put it this way: he's a human being," said Ms Bjercke. "He has human rights. This is about creating a humane prison regime."

The modern prison has 12 wings and can hold 124 prisoners, overseen by 230 staff who can monitor them via surveillance cameras.

The last time a man escaped from Ila was in 2004, and he was caught within minutes, according to prison governor Knut Bjarkeid.

While none of the prison officers are armed with guns, they do have access to batons and can use tear gas if required.

The United States has the highest documented incarceration rate in the world (743 per 100,000 population), Russia has the second highest rate (577 per 100,000), followed by Rwanda (561 per 100,000).[8] As of year-end 2009 the USA rate was 743 adults incarcerated in prisons and jails per 100,000 population.[4][8] At year-end 2007 the United States had less than 5% of the world's population[29] and 23.4% of the world's prison and jail population (adult inmates).[9]
By comparison the incarceration rate in England and Wales[clarification needed] in October 2011 was 155 people imprisoned per 100,000 residents;[30] the rate for Norway in May 2010 was 71 inmates per 100,000;[31] Netherlands in April 2010 was 94 per 100,000;[32] Australia in June 2010 was 133 per 100,000;[33] and New Zealand in October 2010 was 203 per 100,000.[34]

Countries track recidivism rates differently, but even an imperfect comparison suggests the Norwegian model works. Within two years of their release, 20% of Norway's prisoners end up back in jail. In the U.K. and the U.S., the figure hovers between 50% and 60%

The additional criminal sentence of forvaring (protective custody) tacked on to Breivik’s 21-year term means he’ll be subject to a court evaluation of the danger he poses to society every five years. Breivik has never expressed regret and testified that he’d carry out attacks again. If he maintains that position and is thus still deemed dangerous 21 years from now, he can be sentenced to another five years in prison, and be subject to such five-year extensions for the rest of his life or at least until he’s considered to no longer be dangerous.