In a brilliant essay in the New York Review of Books, Mark Danner writes:
'The use of torture deprives the society whose laws have been so egregiously violated of the possibility of rendering justice. Torture destroys justice. Torture in effect relinquishes this sacred right in exchange for speculative benefits whose value is, at the least, much disputed'.
And yet, it appears, the US and its allies have been engaged in what can only be described as a regime of torture against its enemies in the last few years. Now, I am not particularly sorry for the terrorists on whom it was practiced. But, as Danner says:
'by choosing to torture, we freely chose to become the caricature they made of us'...
3 comments:
Out of curiosity, is someone here aware of anyone prior to Beccaria who wrote against torture from a criminological (rather than purely humanitarian) standpoint?
While it's been a while since I last read it, have you heard of Michael Ignatieff's "The Lesser Evil"? From what I can remember, he seems to be one of the leading political science writers on this topic.
http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/article_details.php?id=7374
http://millercenter.org/scripps/archive/forum/detail/1843
Just thought I'd point him out if you hadn't come across him already...
How about a legal stand point? The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states, " No person shall be compelled in any ciminal case to be a witness against himself nor be deprived of life , liberty, or property without due process of law."
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