Torture

Torture is any one of intense interrogation methods used to elicit involuntary information disclosure from another person. These methods have been historically sanctioned by states as justified by the end goals of national security and public safety, though they have also increasingly been challenged on legal, moral, and ethical grounds during the past half century. As such, torture's use is an issue that is globally under debate and in transition. False confessions occur when individuals lie to interrogators to stop the torture. The present discussion focuses solely on the relationship between torture as an interrogative technique and lying as a potential outcome and/or obstacle to be overcome by torture, as distinguished from acts performed for the torturer's pleasure. By most reports, professional interrogators using torture are neither sadistic nor do they perform torture for their pleasure. Many simply view torturous acts as tools of their trade, similar to other interactive methods, differing in intensity.

Historically, some confessions were only legally admissible if elicited under torture because other testimonies were deemed less reliable and valid. Torture continued to be viewed as a legitimate means of law enforcement inquiry through medieval and early modern times in Western cultures. One well-known period of torture use was during the medieval Inquisition, lasting nearly 600 years, and ending in the early 19th century. Torture was [Page 893]also used ubiquitously during trials to elicit confessions of witchcraft. Often, torture was used to elicit the names of accomplices and conspirators of a suspect.

Napoleon Bonaparte felt that torture, as a method of interrogation, was useless. Torture is currently viewed as a violation of the Geneva Conventions, as well as those United Nations' guidelines articulated and ratified across nearly 150 countries, yet torture is still practiced by approximately 80 countries. However, these United Nations guidelines are not legally binding as part of international law, and many participating states are hesitant to frame their practices as torture, because of resulting negative domestic and international perceptions.

Modern torture techniques are often designed to leave no telltale marks on suspects, diminishing a suspect's credibility when claiming torture, and permitting plausible deniability for states and their interrogators. Psychological torture techniques are sometimes favored when the suspect will be freed; however, while not visible, these techniques' damages can be as severe and long-lasting. Thus, while psychological or physical pain and discomfort is frequently used in interrogations, actual harm can sometimes distinguish torture from other severe interrogation techniques. Though delineation between torture and other more “legitimate” interrogation techniques is not commonly agreed upon, torture usually involves some level of suffering beyond minimal levels, and that suffering can last well beyond the interrogative event. In many legal systems, as long as the pain and suffering inflicted on a prisoner or suspect is not “severe,” it is permissible to use physical force to cause “discomfort.”

As terrorism increases throughout the world, law enforcement and intelligence communities have increasingly turned to more intensive interrogation techniques to quickly elicit relevant information from suspects in order to prevent destructive acts. The “ticking time bomb” scenario is commonly invoked in defense of interrogative torture. In some cases, these techniques fall into legally grey areas, and in others they may even violate laws. Yet, the United Nations Convention Against Torture expressly reproaches any justification of torture, including states of war or threat of war, political instability, public emergency, or on order from authorities. This agreement also forbids states from moving suspects to other states where they may be subjected to torture, thereby “outsourcing” torture, or providing “torture by proxy” in which information is elicited by one state, and then routed back to the original state. Both the Red Cross and Amnesty International help monitor situations to prevent the use of torture.

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