outstanding. With the use of the ticking time bomb scenario, some make a desirable case that in special circumstances, there is a right to torture individuals implicated is acts of mass violence. Yet many would still argue that there are an array of inconsistencies hidden within the ticking bomb scenario and there are no circumstances where torture can be morally permissible, no matter what the consequences may hold. The ticking time bomb scenario is simplistic. A bomb has been planted in a highly populated
Torture is the process of inflicting pain upon other people in order to force them to say something against their own will. The word “torture” comes from the Latin word “torquere,” which means to twist. Torture can not only be psychologically but mentally painful. Before the Enlightenment, it was perfectly legal to torture individuals but nowadays, it is illegal to torture anyone under any circumstances. In this essay, I will demonstrate why torture should never acceptable, not matter the condition
between terrorist organizations and The United States. Applebaum explores three equality titillating concepts within the article. Applebaum's questions the actual effectiveness of using torture as a means of obtaining valuable information in urgent times. Applebaum explores the ways in which she feels that the United States’ torture policy ultimately produces negative effects upon the country. Applebaum's final question is if torture is not optimally successful, why so much of society believes it
This information-gathering technique has been the major topic of every wartime discussion. In the case of a terrorist attack such as that of 9/11, shouldn’t torture be justified as a way to save countless lives? Torture proponents always use the scenario in which thousands, if not millions, of lives are pitted against the well-being of one likely terrorist and his torture. Torture opponents argue that torture is a clear violation of human rights, morals, and ethics. Even though torture is morally
the ‘ticking time bomb situation’. This case involves a circumstance where in order to prevent a future catastrophe from occurring, torture of a suspect is necessary in order to obtain information. Those who agree with this ideology argue that torture is still wrong however resorting to torture is the lesser of two evils and therefore justifiable. In this essay I argue that torture is always morally and ethically wrong. However, I recognize that there is a moral difficulty in the ‘ticking time bomb’
or woman. It defies the virtues upon which America should pride itself on. Furthermore, torture as an institution is proven to be ineffective and its continued use will corrupt American ideology (Mayerfield 2008). Even in the ticking time bomb and slow-fuse time bomb scenarios (Krauthammer 2005), where many innocent civilian lives are at stake, torture is intolerable. As the world continues to make progress towards greener pastures, there is no place for torture and America will leave it behind.
Elijah Damacela draft three A Conclusion to the Debate on Torture After the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the fear of another catastrophic event in the United States became a greater concern for the American public. To subdue the growing fear amongst the public, political officials across America were compelled to address new debates on the nation’s tactics to prevent another atrocity. Possibly the most heated, and still argued debate, is that of the appropriateness of the employment
Torture is one of the most extreme methods of eliciting information; unfortunately, it has been used for centuries and is still prevalent worldwide. Thesis: Counterterrorism through interrogation is wrong and leads to false information. Scientific Perspective In 2006 the Intelligence Science Board, a civilian board that advises the U.S. Department of Defense on technical and scientific matters, stated that there was information to support the declaration that torture produces reliable information
obligation to the people to ensure this method of prevention was exercised? When considering the threat from extremists, the United States government must allow for the use of unorthodox interrogation methods, such as torture, when lives are on the line and time is of the essence. A widely popular argument against torture methods in the United States deals with the assumption that terrorists, or any form of enemy combatant that would wield terrorist style attacks, look upon how we as a nation employ torture
.. bomb or know the information about the bomb, which will kill many innocent lives if it is not defused. The ticking bomb example is frequently used to justify the use for torture while its terms can be taken either as setting the bar too high to justify any actual torture or alternatively as opening the door to torture in other cases. Reference: Banks, C. (2013). Criminal Justice Ethics: Theory and Practice, Edition 3. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. CESL. (2008). Ticking Time
Futility of Coercive Interrogation Techniques The US military base in Guantanamo Bay, which was used as detention facility and interrogation activities of suspected terrorists apprehended by US sequel to 9/11 attack in 2001, during the period, terrorist suspects witnessed a wide range of coercive interrogations and inhuman acts ratified by US government and termed “Enhanced Interrogation Techniques”. The joint armed forces and both intelligence agencies of US (CIA ad FBI) where deployed to Guanatanmo
According to Joycelyn M. Pollock, torture is defined as the deliberate infliction of violence and, through violence, severe mental and/or physical suffering upon individuals. Torture, according to Christopher Tindale as quoted in Torture and the Ticking bomb by Bob Brecher, describes torture as: “any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from that person or a third person information or confession, punishing
method to compel someone to reveal “valuable” information (“Definition of torture,” n.d.). When a person is being tortured they could also be compel to participate in an activity they don’t want to do (“Definition of torture,” n.d.). Since ancient times torture has been a method used to obtain valuable intelligence. Presently, the use of torture to acquire beneficial facts is a highly controversial topic. Torture is a highly controversial topic because no one knows how effective it is at retrieving
whatsoever. Although it continues throughout the world, issues such as the “War on Terror” with the possibility of WMDs has resulted in an influx of questions regarding torture and its moral justifications in some extreme emergencies. The dilemma of “ticking bomb terrorist” is a perfect example of this. (See Case Study 1 below) Within this paper I will argue that torture can be morally justified in some extreme emergencies. However, I will also analyse the reasons and arguments for the support of the prohibition
Brecher in Torture and the Ticking Bomb, and his description of torture is “any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from that person or a third person information or confession, punishing that person for an act committed or suspected to have been committed, or intimidation or dehumanizing that person or other persons” (Brecher,
cruel and inhuman. Among these are attention strikes and stress positions. The techniques violate human rights as well as detainee rights. There are few serious arguments for the retention of enhanced interrogation. The most compelling is the "ticking time bomb theory." This theory is in fact based on logical fallacy. An executive order has banned the use of enhanced interrogation. It is the position of this summary that the current ban remain in effect. Torture is the intentional infliction of extreme
Alan Dershowitz challenges the legitimization of non-lethal torture in his essay, “Should the Ticking Bomb Terrorist be tortured?” He claims that torture should indeed be legitimized for specific scenarios that require such action. The ticking bomb terrorist gives the example of a terrorist withholding time-sensitive information that could result in the death of innocent citizens, if not shared. Not only does Dershowitz challenge the idea of torture, but he also gives a probable solution that favors
reason is unforgivable but torturing someone to save thousands of lives justifies torturing. Sandel mentions a very good scenario in determining if torture is ever justified. Sandel says, “You capture a terrorist suspect who you believe has information about a nuclear device set to go off in Manhattan later the same day. In fact, you have reason to suspect that he planted the bomb himself. As the clock ticks
the Mad Bomber Kody Meyer South Tama High School FA:15 This paper will be discussing the classic mad bomber scenario. If you are unfamiliar with it, it goes like this. A man has threatened to detonate several explosives in very populated shopping areas.. He has been taken into custody; however the bombs have already been placed and are scheduled to blow up soon. Because of where these bombs are placed, people will most likely die. The man has not given up the location during interrogation, and is
The human mind is filled with plots of revenge and attempts to counteract this. We spend most of our lives thinking about how to extract satisfaction from a person or moment in time that did us wrong. In the world today, revenge runs rampant in the western world. Third world nations and organizations claim to be extracting revenge for their exploitations by the westerners. I am not the one to decide if this is justified but like with most cases of revenge there are always innocent people that suffer