...And Justice For All?

Justice is a noun which in this context is translated as 'the administering of deserved punishment or reward'. It is the notion that the correct, appropriate punishment will be carried out for the person or persons who committed the crime. Steal a sweet from a shop - get a slap on the wrist. Rob a jewellers - get an extended sentence in prison. Perform genocide on a mass level - death. Murder multitudes of innocent young people - 21 years.

Yet it seems Anders Breivik has managed to swerve the true meaning of justice. Today, a Norweigan court found the mass-murderer and self-confessed terrorist 'sane' and as a result, sentenced him to 21 years in prison.

We are talking here about a man who murdered 77 people and wounded more than 240 others in two attacks on 22 July 2011. Calculated and cold, sadistic and grim. Those are the types of phrases I (and most likely, many others) would use to describe the 33 year old. Definitely not sane. And definitely not deserving of a life behind bars.

The face of evil...Anders Breivik in court

His incarceration has been a top story today as the world cries and groans collectively at this seemingly lax sentence for such a horrifying crime. He said he'd do the same thing all over again and he's doing it for a cause. As all huge atrocities are justified: a cause. He's basically got what some people have for tax fraud. It's beyond ridiculous and begs the question: will prison always be the answer? Trying to rehabilitate and segregate the evil in society can work, it's been proven to in the past. But there has also been examples when some instances need more dramatic and final solutions.

If it has done nothing else, this story has sparked the debate as to the tolerancen and democracy in Norway. But you only have to see the stats and numbers when talking about this crime to see that 21 years just isn't the appropriate sentence. I do not endorse murder, I despise murderers. And that brings us to an interesting paradox if indeed the death sentence was carried out, for surely we would be murderers then too? Or would it be justified? I know my thoughts on that grey-area.

As Breivik enjoys the isolation of a high-security prison cell, the families of those who killed and maimed will attempt to move on with their lives. They won't get a chance to sit down for dinner together or enjoy another Christmas, they can't even breathe the same air. There's something wrong with that picture if you were to ask me. The death penalty is something that has been hotly contested for some time. A life for a life. But when you have incidents such as Breivik and even as recently as James Holmes in the Aurora shootings, surely it isn't just a life for a life. It's one life for the 77 that he took. There has to be justification there.

What do you think of the judge's ruling and sentencing on Anders Breivik? Let me on here or through Twitter at @markabraham89