Torture: No Place For It In Society?

Torture is something that is known as wrong internationally. Torture is “deliberate, systematic or wanton infliction of physical or mental suffering by one or more persons acting on the orders of authority, to force a person to yield information, to confess, or any other reason” (World Medical Association, 1975, pg.1). There is a general consensus that there is a right to be free from any kind of torture as it can be found in many different human rights treaties around the world. The treaties show that all of the thoughts about torture are pointing away from the right to torture someone no matter what the case

Torture is a gruesome thing to do, no matter who the victim is. It goes against religious and moral beliefs of many people. Some people might say that torture is acceptable for the criminals, to prevent something, or safety for your loved ones. It is despicable. “There are better ways to solve problems than to express your anger through abuse or any kind of harming a person.”

Torture is known as the intentional infliction of either physical or psychological harm for the purpose of gaining something – typically information – from the subject for the benefit of the inflictor. Normal human morality would typically argue that this is a wrongful and horrendous act. On the contrary, to deal with the “war on terrorism” torture has begun to work its way towards being an accepted plan of action against terrorism targeting the United States. Terroristic acts perpetrate anger in individuals throughout the United States, so torture has migrated to being considered as a viable form of action through a blind eye. Suspect terrorists arguably have basic human rights and should not be put through such psychologically and physically damaging circumstances.

There are some that do not constitute the United States ' treatment of the prisoners at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo as torture because there were different definitions of the word. According to the Third Geneva Convention, torture is defined as "acts of violence" and "any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental is intentionally inflicted." After the September 11, 2001 attack, the United States changed its definition of torture to "physical pain amounting to torture must be equivalent in intensity to the pain accompanying serious physical injury, such as organ failure, impairment of bodily function, or even death." To be regarded as torture, the act "must cause some lasting, though not necessarily permanent damage." Some disregard these acts as simply cruel treatment and do

Torture has long been a controversial issue in the battle against terrorism. Especially, the catastrophic incident of September 11, 2001 has once again brought the issue into debate, and this time with more rage than ever before. Even until today, the debate over should we or should we not use torture interrogation to obtain information from terrorists has never died down. Many questions were brought up: Does the method go against the law of human rights? Does it help prevent more terrorist attacks? Should it be made visible by law? It is undeniable that the use of torture interrogation surely brings up a lot of problems as well as criticism. One of the biggest problems is that if torture is effective at all. There are

The United Nations defines torture as any act by which severe physical or mental pain or suffering is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining information or a confession, or punishing a person for an act that he is suspected of having committed. Torture also includes intimidating or coercing a person for any reason based on discrimination of any kind when a person acting in an official capacity inflicts pain or suffering (Convention Against Torture para. 2). Although some people believe that torture is acceptable, in reality it is neither an acceptable nor a reliable method for obtaining information and should not be continued.

Michael Yoo used several definitions from several different places to define torture in his argument. The first definition is the one he used when he defined torture as the following: act committed by a person acting under the color of law specifically intended to inflict severe physical or mental pain or suffering (other than pain or suffering incidental to lawful sanctions) upon another person within his custody or physical control. The other definition he uses it used to show what the government defines torture as. This definition is as follows: The United States

Torture is, according to the United Nation Convention Against Torture in 1984: “any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him, or a third person, information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or

Torture, being defined by the 1984 Convention Against Torture is the “cruel, inhumane, or degrading infliction of severe pain or suffering, physical or mental, on a prisoner to obtain information or a confession, or to mete out a punishment for a suspected crime” (Beehner), is condemned and considered illegal by the United States of America and carries severe punishment for those that carry out the act. Yet the numerous amounts of maltreatment of the detainees held by the US during the War on Terror has led to humanitarian interference and, more notably, concern from the United Nations assembly. The most prominent facility in which these detainees are being held is the Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp, a site used for indefinite detention (mostly without trial), yet other secret prisons (operated by the CIA) are scattered about the world, which are also used for “enhanced” interrogation purposes.

When one thinks of torture they are not thinking about bunnies, rainbows, and lollipops. Instead, one will illustrate the idea of dungeons, the Middle Ages, and people being punished in horrendous ways. Torture is not something like candy in which one may say it is delicious, while another believes it is disgusting. Torture is viewed in society in one way only, and it happens to be in a negative manner. When defining torture, the most common widely used definitions are: the infliction of intense pain to punish, coerce, or afford sadistic pleasure, something that causes agony or pain, and the anguish of body and mind. All of these definitions are in accordance to the same word: pain. The word pain itself generally has a negative connotation; by any sense it is unpleasant. A great amount of individuals believe that torture is justifiable when being used for the greater good, however, even if torture is being utilized for the greater good, it is still going to be an immoral act.

Torture is one of the most provocative topics within modern day government and interrogation practices. While the United States constitution’s eighth amendment states that the use of cruel and unusual punishment is a violation, there have been instances whether you look at the Civil Rights era or post-September 11, 2001. Torture has been unfortunately remained a fairly common practice. This book delves into the perspectives of many authors on their views of torture.

Physically torture can be extreme pain. From the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy it defines torture as, “Torture includes such practices as searing with hot irons, cutting out parts of the body, severe beatings, waterboarding (submission in water), denying food, water or sleep for days or weeks on end” (Seumas 2). For example, in the movie Taken 3, the main actor Liam Neeson tortures his ex-wife’s husband trying to get information on his ex-wife’s death. He ties him up, tilts his head back, and puts a rag over his mouth. He then proceeds to dump water on his face until the point where it would feel like one is drowning. He does this several times until he can get the information he wants. The method was proved to be painful since it brought him to a near death experience. Most torture practices involve the victim going through extreme physical pain, but that is not always the case. Putting a person through that type of physical suffering is unethical. No matter what a person does, no one deserves to go through that kind of pain much less all the suffering. Given the fact that physical pain severely affect the victim most over look how torture can be mental also. According to Lauren Neergaard torture can affect the brain which can leave long-term psychological

The use of torture has been the subject of debate for centuries. With the growth of terrorism in recent years, the debate has become hotter as people justify torture or forbid it. There is no question, however, that the use of torture on captured criminals has reduced potential attacks on innocent civilians. Idebate.org contests that “With the use of modern technologies by intelligence services and the co-operation and exchanges of information between different intelligence agencies around the world, the likelihood of catching the wrong person has slimmed significantly.” This means that the terrorist in question is almost certainly the culprit. It is reasonable that torture be used on people that have homicidal intentions. Torture is necessary in today’s society due to the increase of violence because terrorists disregard the law, the time-ticking bomb scenario, and the fact that torture can deter other potential terrorists.

There is an ongoing debate on whether torture should be used and if it is ever “ok”. There are many different points of view and both sides have very clear, convincing arguments on whether torture should be used as a way to obtain information. One side says that torture is not necessary even in extreme cases. The other side it should be used if it mandatory. Although these sound like a compromise they do have a few conflicting ideas. Even though both essays are trying to sway the reader to one side or another, it is the reader’s choice on how he or she feels on torture.

Throughout the course of human history, enemy combatants of the defeated forces were generally taken as war prisoners, often expected to confront brutal tortures or agonizing executions. Such trend managed to steer its way into recent human history. Some of the most atrocious crimes committed against mankind were witnessed during the second World War where prisoners of war underwent unthinkable torture procedures either to give confessions or for the purpose of human experimentation. Hence, participants of the Geneva Convention established a standard for the humane treatment of war prisoners in the aftermath of World War II. Nonetheless, the issue of utilizing violence and torture as a tool of the modern state in forcing submission and upholding security seems to remain a reoccurring discussion. Thus, it is critical to for us ponder the topic of torture through a legal and ethical perspective along with a thorough knowledge of its implications on society in order to weigh the permissibility of this evil.