Recent comments on torture pay inadequate attention to the history of the practice. Observers have long noted that torture does not work; it does not elicit the truth, nor does it provide solid evidence of anything.
extracting a true confession
by torture was “absurd.” A Church Synod held in Rome in 384 denounced the use of torture in secular courts,
tribunals not to accept any statement made under torture.
In 1621 the French jurist Bernard de la Roche Flavin
asked, “What would people not say or do to avoid such great pain?”
Despite the recent promotion by Dick Cheney and others of torture as a route to the prevention of terrorism, no evidence supports his view.
in opposition to his view is the finding by the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel that for the period 1990-99, no credible evidence demonstrates that physical coercion helped avert a terrorist attack.
torture is simply a favorite of self-styled tough guys
clipped from: hnn.us