Violent crimes and extreme divergence in sentencing

Abstract

Some signs of armed attacks on educational institutions characterize these events as a new youth type of terrorist activity, but unlike terrorism, school shooter does not have the goal of destabilizing the activities of the authorities. Based on the research of the circumstances of the school shootings, the methods of their commission, the level of public danger, as well as the personality of the shooters and their behavior, it is possible to identify the hallmarks that are inherent in both terrorism and armed attacks on educational institutions. In terms of sentencing severity for mass murder, the U.S. criminal provisions obviously stands out, while the Norway’s imprisonment rates are among the lowest in Europe and penal policies generally are among the mildest.

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