The insanity defense was championed by people worried that those with serious, obvious insanity would be punished for crimes they couldn't comprehend, let alone truly intend. Since then it's been used by the worst people for the worst reasons. To save the crazy homeless guy who doesn't know why he's in jail, the most depraved serial killers get a golden ticket. It's wrong, and several states in the US ban the insanity defense. That's the only reason why people are reluctant to use the word insane to describe someone who is clearly not thinking the way normal people think. Because it could be his ticket to freedom.

Of course, most of Scandinavia is even further off the touchy-feeley deep end than American proponents of the insanity defense. The maximum sentence for killing around a hundred people, mostly children, is 21 years in this case. Breivik is not insane, he's evil, and he found a way for the exact people he hates to enable him to spread his message.