Are there situations when tortures are justifiable?

[viper37]

What if you have the wrong guy or in reality, there's no such device, it's the imagination of a deranged man?

[The Brain]

What if you have the wrong guy or in reality, there's no such device, it's the imagination of a deranged man?

What's your point?

[viper37]

What if you have the wrong guy or in reality, there's no such device, it's the imagination of a deranged man?

What's your point?

Torturing is like the death penalty.  No problem when you got the good guy.  Problem is, you never know if you have.  And I doubt someone deranged enough to plan mass murder will break under torture & reveal the truth in just a few hrs.

[Ed Anger]

I'd like to see the hackers who are acting all uppity get their nuts electroshocked.

And the Wikirapes guy. He deserves to have a glass bottle shoved up his ass.

[Grey Fox]

I'd like to see the hackers who are acting all uppity get their nuts electroshocked.

And the Wikirapes guy. He deserves to have a glass bottle shoved up his ass.

Lulsec sure is pissed off nowadays.

I downloaded the txt file with all the passwords/emails they release earlier today. Thankfully, I'm not in there.

[Slargos]

13 people didn't think their answer through, or are complete and utter morons. It surprises me [well, not really] that a majority would be so reckless.

[Ed Anger]

I'd like to see the hackers who are acting all uppity get their nuts electroshocked.

And the Wikirapes guy. He deserves to have a glass bottle shoved up his ass.

Lulsec sure is pissed off nowadays.

I downloaded the txt file with all the passwords/emails they release earlier today. Thankfully, I'm not in there.

I'm going to have the lulz when the FBI gets a hold few of them.

[The Brain]

What if you have the wrong guy or in reality, there's no such device, it's the imagination of a deranged man?

What's your point?

Torturing is like the death penalty.  No problem when you got the good guy.  Problem is, you never know if you have.  And I doubt someone deranged enough to plan mass murder will break under torture & reveal the truth in just a few hrs.

I hope you don't believe in an afterlife. You'll get about 6 billion "gee thanks, dude!".

[Sheilbh]

Yes.

[Berkut]

What if you have the wrong guy or in reality, there's no such device, it's the imagination of a deranged man?

What's your point?

Torturing is like the death penalty.  No problem when you got the good guy.  Problem is, you never know if you have.  And I doubt someone deranged enough to plan mass murder will break under torture & reveal the truth in just a few hrs.

That is what is great about people saying things like "EVER" and "ANY CIRCUMSTANCE". It makes it easy to simply construct where you don't have to account for variables like "what if they aren't the right person???" Simple - I just stated they they ARE the right person.

This is actually useful, since it establishes that the opposition to torture is not fundamental, but practical - we can come up with a situation where ANY torture could be justified.

And since we know that "torture" is a spectrum (after all, interrogation is about trying to get someone to tell you something they would rather not, hence implies some kind of force being exerted), then it illuminates the REAL question - how much and under what circumstances?

We can look at both extremes, and know that with the rights ends, any means can be contemplated. And we know that we tolerate plenty of things that include "pressure" on a subject, so we know that some *means* are tolerated even if the ends are not radical....

[DGuller]

Torture sometimes may be necessary and the only realistic option, but it is never justifiable.

[Slargos]

Meaningless distinction.

[grumbler]

Torture sometimes may be necessary and the only realistic option, but it is never justifiable.

Disagree.  It is difficult to justify, but not impossible.  I don't think that it should ever be legal; I think that anyone who decides that the situation justifies torture should do so with the understanding that they will suffer the full legal penalties for torturing; if that tradeoff isn't worth it to them, then the torture wasn't justified anyway.

[DGuller]

Torture sometimes may be necessary and the only realistic option, but it is never justifiable.

Disagree.  It is difficult to justify, but not impossible.  I don't think that it should ever be legal; I think that anyone who decides that the situation justifies torture should do so with the understanding that they will suffer the full legal penalties for torturing; if that tradeoff isn't worth it to them, then the torture wasn't justified anyway.

I was actually trolling. 

Although, I guess, you can make an argument that torture should be illegal under all circumstances, since legalizing it is a very dangerous window to open, but if it is necessary, then you'll just ask someone to kamikaze themselves in a legal sense for the common good.  I'm not sure how morally justifiable that position is, and whether it opens a can of worms of its own.

[Ed Anger]

I'd like to add that the persons responsible for changing Mickey D's BBQ sauce should have their toes broken.