Limits of Control

Modern Methods of Torture

What is Torture?• UN Convention Against Torture

– 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; • intimidating or coercing him or a third person; • or for any reason based on discrimination of any

kind…– when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the

instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in, or incidental to, lawful sanction.

History of Torture

• Torture in the Middle Ages– Torture chambers in castles– No legislation against torture– Different methods depending on criminal

offenses and social status

History of Torture

• The Rack– Stretching, dislocation, limb severance

History of Torture

• Water Torture– Prisoners forced to swallow 9-18 pints of

water

History of Torture

• Thumbscrews – Bones of fingers, toes slowly crushed– Portable torture

History of Torture

• Burned at the Stake– Pile of wood and straw– Prisoners stripped; dressed in robe covered

in sulfur– Tied to stake amidst the pile– Fire lit on all sides; prisoner engulfed in

flames – Merciful modifications

• Prisoner stabbed with an iron bar as flames rise• Gunpowder placed in the wood• Strangulation prior to burning

History of Torture

• Execution by Quartering– Usually preceded by other tortures

• Hand cut off• Lacerated wounds filled with lead or hot oil

– Limbs tied to bars fastened to separate horses• Horses urged forward in opposite directions

– Not a quick torture; could last several hours• Initial jerks; then horses whipped forward• Limb resistance required a “cut”• Limbs and trunk burned, displayed

Is Torture Still Used Today?

• Prohibited (forbidden) under international law & domestic laws

• Amnesty International: At least 81 countries practice torture

• UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Article 5 prohibits torture

• UN Convention Against Torture: 145 states pledge not to torture

• 3rd & 4th Geneva Conventions: Signees pledge not to torture POWs

Who is a prisoner of war?

• Geneva Convention restrictions apply to POW’s (soldiers from other countries’ armies)

• Terrorist groups: Not nation-states and thus not entitled to Geneva Convention protections– Terrorist groups do not respect the Geneva

Convention and are not signatories to it.– GC: Morality is a contract and some people

(terrorists) as not accepting the contract.• CURRENT EVENTS

– In 2009, President Obama announced he was closing Guantanamo Bay

Is Torture Still Practiced Today?• Amnesty International:

75% of the world’s governments have

used torture in the last 3 years

Modern Methods of Torture• Most common: Beatings and physical

assault – Philippines: Any object at hand– Israel: “Shaking”

• May cause brain hemorrhages • Israeli Supreme Court: “Moderate physical

pressure” is acceptable

Modern Methods of Torture• Electricity: Popular and painful – Electric cattle prods– Attachment of car batteries to bodies– Stun weapons sell for $200 and can

deliver shocks up to 75,000 volts

Modern Methods of Torture• Psychological torture– Solitary confinement – Sleep deprivation– Mock executions– Panama: a) Videos of rabbits dying; b)

Exposure to high-decibal rap– Sodium pentathol: “Truth serum”

• Psychoactive drug • Stunts the central nervous system, slows heart

rate, lowers blood pressure• Relaxed state makes subjects susceptible to

suggestion… easy to interrogate

Torture in the United States?• CIA Techniques

– Attention Grab: Forceful grab of shirt; then shaking

– Attention Slap: Open-handed slap; causes pain & fear

– Bell Slap: Open-handed slap to the stomach – Punching can cause lasting internal damage

– Long Time Standing: Cuffed, shackled to the floor – More than 40 hours

– Cold Cell: Prisoner naked; 50º cell; doused with cold H2O

– Waterboarding: Prisoner bound, placed on inclined bench; face covered in cellophane; application of water results in gag reflex and fears of drowning

The Efficiency Argument• Torture can elicit information more

quickly and efficiently than any other method.

• The “ticking bomb” case: Necessary in order to prevent a much greater catastrophe.

• Television & movies send a strong message that torture is acceptable when it is used to prevent a disaster.

The Everyone-Else-Does-It Argument

• Other countries regularly use torture to obtain information.

• To ban torture is to put our country at a competitive disadvantage

The Inefficiency Argument

• Under torture, prisoners will say anything to end the torture.

• Other techniques are much more effective in eliciting reliable information.

The Slippery Slope Argument

• Even if justified in rare “ticking bomb” cases, it would quickly (and inappropriately) be used in other situations.

• How do we know the suspect has the crucial information?

The Reciprocity Argument

• The best way to protect our troops from torture by the enemy is to refrain from torturing our own prisoners.

The Consistency Argument

• By torturing, we are saying that it is permissible for others to torture as well.

• We give up the moral high ground.

The Dignity Argument

• It is wrong to torture because it degrades us as a nation, putting us on the same level as our worst enemies.

• John McCain