The U.N defines torture as a way people get answers from detainees. The CIA would use harmful techniques to figure out what someone did, and how they did it (“5 Interrogation Methods”). One of the techniques used to get out answers was waterboarding. People are put on the ground or anywhere and they have a towel on their face. The prison guard would pour the water all over the other person's face to imitate drowning (“5 Interrogation Methods”). Having said this, because of the interrogation less people have been attacked and the CIA has found more…
At some point everyone has heard of torture. It could have been in a movie or on the news, but they have heard of it. In this day and age, people would like to have believed it was all behind us in the past. Then 9/11 happened, everyone’s lives were changed with one simple act of cruelty. Before 9/11 hit the U.S. in a wave of pain, panic, and anger, our viewpoints on torture would probably have been less likely that it should be allowed. The decision to torture people who are suspected of being part of terrorist groups has always been decided by the government, for the simple reason that it is required to keep us safe from harm. Some people believe that torture is cruel, unsightly and just inhumane. On the other hand there are people who see it the same way but also believe it could be necessary in extreme circumstances. We’re going to look at two different points of torture: When it is acceptable and when it is not acceptable.…
This type of situation has been repeated in history with one example being the War Crime Trials for the Nazi soldiers after the Holocaust. In that instance, since people’s lives were lost, these Nazi officials were given the death penalty because people believed they should receive the same type of punishment for their actions. In this hypothetical example, no deaths were lost, but there was torture and terror involved which some people argue that torture is far worse than just being given the death penalty. So is being tortured actually worse than just being given the death penalty? The importance of considering this question is that if torture is worse than the death penalty then the death penalty would be a lesser punishment and any punishment “above or below what would be acceptable for the crime committed would be immoral because it does not…
Torture is illegal because it breaks the 8th Amendment of the Constitution. The Constitution states that the 8th Amendment of the Constitution states that cruel and unusual punishment is illegal . “The detainees were sexually humiliated for punishment and for fun in Guantanamo Bay” (ThinkProgress). These are not only illegal but they are hate crimes too, The US government makes the guards believe that all of the detainees are bad because they are Muslims when they are not. EIT breaks the 8th amendment so it must be abolished.…
Using torture to as a way to gain intelligence involves a tremendous amount of assumptions. The Torturer is assuming that they have the correct person, they are assuming as the victims level of involvement and guilt in the situation, and lastly by using torture they are assuming that there is no alternative way to extract the information.…
There are many questions relating to the use of torture against any person whatsoever. As such, there are different perspectives on the ethics of its usage as well. While some believe that the use of torture becomes necessary at times, others believe that whatever the circumstances are, torture can never be justified. Some very pertinent issues related to the use of torture are, “Suppose a child has been kidnapped and a person has been suspected of committing the crime. Is it justifiable to torture that person in order to try to extract information from him about the child? Now suppose the person would not react at all if he is subjected to torture but there is a chance that he would divulge information if his child of the similar age as the…
Torture is never justified because it defies moral values of both humans and the United States. Humans have the obligation to “respect the honor and dignity of other human beings” (Fried), even if that respect and dignity is not returned. Once tactics such as torture are resorted to, which compromise the dignity of another human, the dignity of the person performing that act is also compromised (Fried). There are some things, such as torture, that should never be done simply because the right to “call ourselves decent human beings” depends on not doing them (Jacoby). If humans sink to the lowest level that is torture, the essential abilities to feel empathy, respect, and honor are lost, all core parts of humanity that separate man from all other animals. As a country, the United States also has distinct morals that hold it above resorting to torture.…
I think if the person is being tortured and has done something wrong, has endangered many innocent lives or is directly involved with a heinous crime, then it would be rational to use torture. However, I am a little skeptical if the person being tortured will become delusional and say something incorrect. Nevertheless, torture is never moral. Moreover, if people torture others purely for their own benefit, then that is treating humans as objects, “mere means" to an end (Bailey). Torture may be rational in some cases, however, it is never morally justifiable, as it is inflicting emotional and physical harm and treating humans as…
This paper addresses one of the most abiding and heated controversies surrounding the topic of torture and morality. Put simply, this controversy concerns the issue of whether under extreme and exceptional circumstances, a government agency should be legally permitted to use torture as a means of punishment or extracting information. According to Oxford Dictionary, torture is defined as “The action of inflicting severe pain on someone as a punishment or in order to force them to do or say something”.…
The thumbscrew was basically utilized back in the medieval times and was mostly used when trying to receive a confession. “They were designed to slowly crush not only the fingers and toes, but larger devices were also used to crush knees and elbows” (Pegg, 2013). This form of torture will work perfectly during interrogations. The neck torture on the other hand was just made as an endurance test or a method of punishment. “It is a neck device that is usually made out of wood or metal with sharp ends” (Pegg, 2013). This torture technique allowed the victim to be very uncomfortable. In fact, “they were unable to eat, lie down or lower their heads for days” (Pegg, 2013). In conclusion, many of us would approve that torture is usually abnormal and disturbing, for various types of reasons. Whether it is ethically speaking or because we as citizens have rights and should obey those rights. However, we would also agree that terrorists, child molesters, and serial killers do not deserve the right to be treated with respect. They clearly have no sympathy for others and do not care about anyone’s feelings, so why should we care about…
Torture has been a technique use by many nations in the world including the United States. Physically and psychologically damage captured people is what the government do when under attack. There were innocent victims along with attackers that got captured for terrorist and war interrogation. Terrorist attacks like September 11 are unpredictable and it then disturb every citizen’s everyday life. However, that should not be the reason to arrest suspects and torture them, sometimes to death, to get ahold of the true culprits.…
Torture is the intentional inflicting of severe pain and suffering on people to punish or intimidate them so that they will extract information (Doing Ethics). Torture is morally wrong if it is unjustifiable or does not serve a purpose. On the other hand, to protect and secure our country from extremist and other terrorist, it can be morally justified. Keeping torture quiet with the public and out of world news is crucial. If it got out that the Americans were torturing assumed terrorists or enemies of the state for answers, it could cause great controversy. Although torture can be seen as unethical and unjustifiable, it is needed to protect…
As Americans, as a nation founded on the basis of fundamental human rights, and equality for all, torture is an unacceptable and inexcusable act that degrades us as a nation and as individuals. It debases us and makes us scarcely better than those we condemn. Just as a rose by any other name will smell just as sweet, torture by any other name remains just as deplorable.…
There is countless different types of interrogation techniques that involve some form of torture of another(“A Torture Debate”). While many people may be against the techniques, there’s a reason they are used. They work. When you can push someone to the brink where they will do anything possible for it to stop, you can get some useful information. There are other ways to get information, but often times they need to work quickly in order to stop an upcoming attack (“Securing Liberty”). The techniques used by the U.S. government pale in comparison to those used on our soldiers when captured. Our criminal justice system is based on finding punishments that…
Torture has existed all over the world for millennia but what is torture in America today? The C.I.A. and the F.B.I. have recently used torture against terrorists who were suspected to have vital information concerning American safety. Since torture is illegal in the United States, most of this torture took place at Guantanamo Bay in the southeastern corner of Cuba. Detainees at the detention camp were not entitled to any of the protections of the Geneva Convention due to the fact that Guantanamo Bay is not considered to be within legal jurisdiction of the United States. Captives at the camp were subject to horrendous “enhanced interrogation” techniques such as waterboarding, hypothermia, stress positions, and sleep deprivation. Martin describes torture as “… a stain on our great country.” Even though torture has been known to produce answers and in return save lives, it is still an immoral act.…