– I want to live WITH what I have done, not IN it, as I have done. That was said by the defendant who explained himself in court today, Thursday 17 November. He sits calmly in the middle of the hall in the Borgarting Court of Appeal and quietly answers questions from the public prosecutor, the defense attorney and the expert. The Borgarting Court of Appeal will now decide whether the defendant should return to society after the “Halloween murder”. Photo: Maria Kommandantvold / news Knivstakk comrades On 30 October 2011, three comrades from Hallingdal gathered in an apartment in Pilestredet in Bislett in Oslo to celebrate Halloween. The three knew each other from childhood and had contact after they moved to Oslo. This evening ended with Andreas Nilstad being killed with a knife. Marius Løken was injured life-threateningly. Both are from Hemsedal. The perpetrator in his 30s was sentenced to compulsory mental health care in 2013 after the fateful Halloween night. In the media, the case is referred to as the “Halloween murder”. Today, Thursday 17 November, and tomorrow 18 November, the Borgarting Court of Appeal will decide whether the accused murderer is healthy enough to return to society. The Halloween murder On the night of Sunday 30 October 2011, the police received a report of a domestic disturbance with personal injury in an apartment building in Pilestredet in Bislett. In an apartment on the third floor, the police found 22-year-old Andreas Nilstad from Hemsedal murdered. His then 21-year-old friend from Geilo was arrested by the police in the backyard with cuts. The 21-year-old was charged with the murder of the 22-year-old, and the attempted murder of another friend from Geilo. He admitted to killing Andreas Nilstad and injuring his comrade, but pleaded not guilty. In September 2013, he was sentenced to compulsory mental health care for murder and attempted murder. A few months later, the treatment facility deemed the man healthy enough to be released. The request for tender came in the summer of 2014, but it could not be assessed until one year after the judgment became final (September). The prosecution opposed the release of the now 25-year-old man, so it was up to the court to decide. In March 2015, the Drammen district court concluded that there is still a imminent danger that the 25-year-old will commit new serious acts of violence, and that it is therefore not justifiable to release him. 2018: The district court upholds the compulsory mental health care. 2021: A unanimous Buskerud district court abolished the compulsory mental health care before Christmas. 2022: The public prosecutor chooses in January to appeal the district court’s cancellation of the forced mental health care. Was psychotic All four forensic psychiatric experts concluded in 2013 that the perpetrator was psychotic when he attacked his comrades. He was thus sentenced to healthcare, not prison. The scene in Pilestredet was described as very bloody after the defendant, who was 23 at the time, had attacked his comrades with a knife. The defendant’s defense attorney at the time, Harald Stabell, said in 2013 that they argued that the defendant was psychotic, but that the psychosis was not triggered by drugs, and they were upheld in court. Does not want to start a family The defendant further explained in court today that he now works full-time in his own company, but knows that the restrictions are stopping him from moving on with his life. – What makes you think you are healthy enough to release the coercion, asked public prosecutor Johan Øverberg. State Attorney Johan Øverberg. Photo: Maria Kommandantvold / news – I am in a place in life where things work well. With a job, with your own business. With family and friends. But the restrictions mean I can’t go any further. And I constantly have to deal with the fact that there may be a letter from the state attorney, a phone call from the defense attorney, new plans, he replied. The defendant also said that he does not want to start a family and have children as long as he lives under protection. – I don’t want to expose children and families to the fear that child protection will ring the doorbell. When asked by news why the defendant should not be released from compulsory mental health care, Øverberg replies: – The reason why we appealed the district court’s decision to the Court of Appeal is that we wanted to get the Court of Appeal’s assessment of whether the conditions for maintenance are present. – Do you think he is still a danger to society? – The basis for the appeal has been that they want the Court of Appeal’s assessment of this, concludes Øverberg. – Lived as a free man Defender Mette Yvonne Larsen believes the man is now healthy and can live a normal life. In his introduction, Larsen emphasized that the defendant lives today to a large extent as a free man. – He lives on the family farm and has a job with a lot of responsibility. But he doesn’t get a passport, no bank card and can’t travel abroad either, she said. Defense attorney Mette Yvonne Larsen believes the convict is healthy. Photo: Maria Kommandantvold / news – Had the defendant been sentenced to a normal prison sentence, as the district court unanimously agreed, he would have been a free man today. And it is difficult to understand why he should not release the forced mental health care. She also said that he has been completely drug-free during the treatment, which has been checked with urine samples. – How sure can we be that there is no risk of recurrence? – If you want to be sure of things, you have to keep people under duress for the rest of their lives. It is not a humane society, replies Larsen. Abolished compulsory care Every year between 100 and 150 people in Norway are sentenced to compulsory mental health care. The figures have been stable in recent years. In December last year, the Drammen district court revoked the enforced protection of the man, but the prosecution appealed the verdict. Whether the man should be under compulsory mental health protection has been tested in court three times. The case was also up for consideration in 2015 and 2018. Both times the court concluded that the man still had to be under compulsory mental health care. Compulsory mental health care A sentence of compulsory mental health care has a duration of up to three years. The prosecuting authority must then assess whether this special reaction can cease, or whether the case should be sent to the court, which will decide whether the sentence should be extended. Compulsory mental health care can only be extended if there is a risk of recurrence and if society requires it. So said lawyer Marit Lomundal Sæther. She has taken several cases to court where compulsory mental health protection is the form of response. Marit Lomundal Sæther is a lawyer and partner at Advokatbyrået Sulland. Photo: David Vojislav Krekling / news – If the court does not find that there is a risk of repetition, then the defendant has a legal claim that the sentence ceases, she says. – Emphasis must be placed on the defendant’s development during compulsory custody. And then the court must look at the offense which is the basis for the protection, the behaviour, the medical history, the mental state and the person’s relationship to drugs in order to make an assessment. The experts must present their views on this in court. Compulsory mental health care In order to be punished (prison or detention), an offender must be sane at the time of the act. People who are insane can be sentenced to compulsory mental health care under section 62 of the Criminal Code. This has previously mainly concerned those who are convicted of murder or serious violence, now it is open for coercive measures to be used against those who can carry out such acts. The new text of the act is as follows: Transfer to compulsory mental health care can also be imposed on an offender who is insane according to section 20 second to fourth paragraph when he has committed repeated offenses of a socially harmful or particularly troublesome nature, the special reaction is necessary to protect society against such offences, the danger of new offenses of the same nature is particularly imminent, and other measures have proven to be obviously inappropriate.
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Will test whether the man behind the “Halloween murder” is healthy enough to be released – news Oslo og Viken – Local news, TV and radio
