The Mystery of the Lone Wolf Killer by Unni Turrettini

Author:Unni Turrettini
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pegasus Books

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

Breivik’s first psychiatric examination was arranged by court-appointed Torgeir Husby, the 61-year-old head of psychiatry at Oslo’s Diakonhjemmet Hospital. Known for his tough medical approach rather than his attention to his patient’s veracity, or lack thereof, he was joined by Dr. Synne Sørheim, a former assistant of his at Oslo’s facility. Ironically enough, the hospital Dr. Husby headed was the same facility that had treated Breivik’s mother in the past and was treating her now, after her breakdown. Clearly, Husby was no impartial expert. Breivik’s mother had long insisted that her son was insane, as a way of avoiding taking any blame for his actions.

The panel’s conclusion was made public on Tuesday, November 29, 2011. They diagnosed Breivik as suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. This disorder had developed over a period of time, they concluded, and he had been criminally insane during the attacks and still was during their examinations days later.

According to the report, Breivik offered unfitting dialogue that lacked empathy. He spoke and acted compulsively, alluding to himself as Europe’s warrior in “a low-intensity civil war.” He described himself as a grand master in the Knights Templar and claimed that the organization would commit further executions.

One might think this would take care of the question as to Breivik’s state of mind when he slaughtered seventy-seven people and left well over a hundred more collectively suffering on the street, at the camp, in the fields, and in the water. Yet the Norwegian people were shocked by the realization that he could, in essence, go free. That was what their legal system offered them. A person, in this case Breivik, could either be sane and imprisoned or insane and unpunished. It was too much to fathom.

This shock created a huge outrage in the media. On December 8, 2011, on behalf of the surviving victims of the attacks, their attorneys challenged the panel’s bias and demanded a second opinion.

Meanwhile, Dr. Randi Rosenquist, a renowned psychiatrist who had observed Breivik during his initial days in prison, spoke for the first time about the case on national television. It was her opinion that someone who, like Breivik, was in the midst of an active psychosis like the panel had concluded, most likely couldn’t have pulled off such a complicated and well-organized plan of attack.

When she learned how Breivik had manufactured the bomb, coordinated its blast, and directed his attack on the island, she paused to ponder the totality of horror he had accomplished. The time it must have involved just to plan the attack. The energy he must have expended. The precise manner in which he had executed his mission. All these factors suggested that he was probably sane. The full scope of Breivik’s act seemed too complex to be compatible with an active psychosis.

In January 2012, the court appointed a second panel of psychiatric experts, Dr. Tørrissen and Dr. Aspaas, in an attempt to appease the media and population. Right after Easter break in April, the panel’s conclusion was made public. They deemed Breivik sane, in the criminal sense of the term.

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