Breivik's Sanity In Focus As Trial Wraps Up

Prosecutors in the trial of Norwegian mass killer Anders Behring Breivik are widely expected to call for him to be declared insane as they make the closing arguments in his 10-week trial.

Most commentators believe prosecutors Svein Holden and Inga Bejer Engh will ask for the right-wing extremist to be transferred compulsory mental health care.

Harald Stanghelle, political editor of Aftenposten, does not agree.

He said: "I think the prosecutors might change their mind based on what they have heard in court and ask the judges to declare Breivik of sound mind so that he can be sent to prison."

This is what most Norwegian people want.

Hanne Skartveit, political editor and commentator at the VG newspaper, argues it would be morally wrong to not hold Breivik responsible for killing eight people in car bombing in Oslo and slaughtering another 69 at a summer camp on Utoya island.

"Anders Behring Breivik is completely mad. Otherwise he could not have killed 77 people. But he is not legally insane. He knew what he did. He knew it was wrong," she said.

Regardless of what decision the state prosecutor's present in court it is up to the five judges to make the final decision.

They will have to look at all the evidence presented in court - including the two official reports from two teams of forensic psychiatrists. One declaring Breivik sane. The other declaring him insane.

The first team of psychiatrists, declared Breivik insane, ignoring his right-wing extremism and political motivation.

Based on psychiatry they say he is psychotic and a paranoid schizophrenic and that he lives in his own delusional universe where all thoughts and actions are controlled by his delusions.

None of the other witnesses with expertise on psychiatry and psychology agrees Breivik is insane. A dozen or so have given evidence in court.

The second team declaring him "of sound mind" says he has no serious mental illness and is not psychotic. They say he suffers from narcissistic personality disorder, but that does not make him insane.

The first psychiatrists interpret his withdrawal from friends, work and social life in 2006 as being unable to function in a normal society. The second team of psychiatrists see this as natural behaviour for a terrorist planning an attack.

In court they admitted doubts over their opinion after the first week of the trial when Breivik showed no emotions at all but after a secret 19-minute meeting with Breivik in his waiting cell in Oslo district court they were reassured.

This doubt could be vital when the judges decide Breivik's fate. How big is this doubt?

If the judges are more than 25% uncertain that Breivik is sane, the law says this doubt should "benefit" the perpetrator by declaring him insane, just to ensure no insane offenders end up in prison.

The dilemma is that Breivik and his defence team do not see this as a benefit to him.

He wants to be declared sane despite the fact that a transfer to mental health care would given him a more "comfortable" life.

Breivik's defence team will on Friday ask for him to be declared of sound mind, even though it means an indeterminate prison sentence.

The verdict is expected either July 20 or August 24.