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Torture Do More Harm Than Good Essay

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To trust the information given by a terrorist who is under countless hours of torture really can do more harm than good. When a terrorist is tortured they go under five documented types of torture this includes: stress positions, sensory deprivation, sleep deprivation, constant noise, and starvation. Sean O’Mara, a professor of experimental brain research at Trinity College Dublin, released an article talking how the brain works under fear, starvation, thirst, extreme temperatures, immersion in water, and sleep deprivation. O’Hara states, “These stressors create problems for memory, mood and thinking, and sufferers, predictability, produce information that is deeply unreliable” (O’Mara) he goes on to state, “I don’t know why more scientists …show more content…

Austin Ramzy who is a writer for the New York Times, released an article about a story in Hong Kong about man named Xu Yongsheng, who was accused of taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes was taken into custody, the man was the deputy director of the National Energy Administration back in 2014. During one of his hearings he went back on his previous confession in which he admitted to receiving money from other companies trying to get approvals for power plants he made a new statement saying he only gave his previous statement because he was under extreme physical abuse while being detained and the only thing he accepted from anyone was a massage chair. Ramzy states,”Mr.Xu told the court that during a year of investigation, he had gone long periods without sleep, and that when not being interrogated, he was forced to memorize detention rules. He has frequently been forced to sit on a tiny stool that caused him to bleed.” (Ramzy) Basically, Ramzy is saying how while being detained he was being tortured with sleep deprivation and Xu confessed to being physically abused as well. What this article also shows is how torture will force someone to say something that is not true just to end the torture that is taking place. So this is just another example of how using torture to get information from terrorists is a waste of

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In the article “The Case for Torture”, Michael Levin argues that the use of torture as a way to save lives is justifiable and necessary. Levin draws a series of cases where torture might be acceptable so as to set certain precedent for the justification of torture in more realistic cases. HoweverLevin illustrates three cases where torture might be justifiable.he describes a terrorist keeping city of millions hostage to an atomic bomb, the second, a terrorist who has implanted remote bombs on a plane and the third, a terrorist who has kidnapped a baby. torture and its consequences have been recorded in countries around of world over a vast span of time, and for a variety of reasons. Levin makes no such attempt to expand his article beyond

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848 Words | 4 Pages

Dershowitz, he is the author of the essay "The Case for Torture Warrants". Dershowitz is more in favor of torture than Young and McCain. He believes that an authority figure should make the decision to torture and only torture if a warrant is issued. He also believes in non-lethal torture that makes people uncomfortable but does not harm the individual. In his essay, he gives the example of the Israeli security service torturing a suspected terrorist by placing a "smelly sack over his head and shake him violently" (Dershowitz 687).

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1250 Words | 5 Pages

For instance, when Dr. Ofshe says, “Mr. Misskelley describes that what he learned to do was to feed back to the interrogators what they were telling him happened and he sought to avoid making mistakes because when he made mistakes they would make him go back through the entire story and they would not believe him when he repeatedly told them that he was working with Rickey Deese that day and he knew nothing about the crime” (Ofshe). Jessie felt hopeless, like the only way out was to confess to the murder whether he did it or not which is incredibly unjust. Their tactic was to put so much pressure on this innocent 17 year old boy with an IQ of just 72 until he finally just couldn’t take it anymore, which honestly seems like a form or torture in a way. Also, another good point made by Ofshe is, “The statement about the time at which this crime occurred is a statement that comes up and is manipulated eight different times over the course of this interrogation and over the course of those eight manipulations one sees a pattern of unrelenting pressure on Mr. Misskelley” (Ofshe). Doing things like manipulating a statement eight times to get a response you know won’t be true is foolish.

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699 Words | 3 Pages

Mahatma Gandhi, the preeminent leader of the Indian independence movement states “You can chain me, you can torture me, you can even destroy this body, but you will never imprison my mind.” This is important because torture is brutal on the body and mind. The article “Torture’s Terrible Toll” by John McCain is more convincing then the article “The Case for Torture” by Michael Levin because McCain provides more logical reasoning, he adds his own personal experience of being a captured prisoner during the Vietnam War, and he creates an emotional bond with people around the world. Through more logical reasoning McCain Argument is more valid than Levin.

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515 Words | 3 Pages

In Michael Levin’s “The Case for Torture”, he uses many cases of emotional appeal to persuade the reader that torture is necessary in extreme cases. There are many terms/statements that stick with the reader throughout the essay so that they will have more attachment to what is being said. Levin is particularly leaning to an audience based in the United States because he uses an allusion to reference an event that happened within the states and will better relate to the people that were impacted by it. The emotional appeals used in this essay are used for the purpose of persuading the reader to agree that in extreme instances torture is necessary and the United States should begin considering it as a tactic for future cases of extremity. One major eye catching factor of this essay is the repetitive use of words that imply certain stigmas.

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971 Words | 4 Pages

In Michael Levin's The Case for Torture, Levin provides an argument in which he discusses the significance of inflicting torture to perpetrators as a way of punishment. In his argument, he dispenses a critical approach into what he believes justifies torture in certain situations. Torture is assumed to be banned in our culture and the thought of it takes society back to the brutal ages. He argues that societies that are enlightened reject torture and the authoritative figure that engage in its application risk the displeasure of the United States. In his perspective, he provides instances in which wrongdoers put the lives of innocent people at risk and discusses the aspect of death and idealism.

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1050 Words | 5 Pages

Applebaum has plenty of evidence to back up her claim that physical torture is not effective, and there are many other ways to obtain information. While the fear-encouraging and questioning elements are potent to many who are afraid of terror committed against them, but when the overwhelming sentiment of Levin’s argument is being compared to the logic and ethical points of Applebaum it is clear to see the superiority of her argument. Although Levin would advocate for physical torture in extreme situations, one must expect extreme consequences. Physical torture is rarely effective, violates rights, and damages a whole nation’s credibility. This is why physical torture should not be

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893 Words | 4 Pages

From an article by Lauren Neergaard, titled “Torture can affect the brain, leaving long-term psychological scars,” which is about how a torture report was released on the harsh interrogation program of the C.I.A. A doctor named Vincent lacopino, an adviser to the nonprofit Physicians for Human Rights explains how torture affects the brain. It says, “Even a few days of sleep deprivation fog the mind, he noted, while sensory deprivation can lead to hallucinations and other symptoms of psychosis” (PBS). Your emotions can also become amplified, like your anger or sadness, which can then become depression. Sleep deprivation can cause memory problems, which is just one of the many mental effects. Sleep deprivation can cause cognitive impairments like reduced short term memory and fragmented thought processes.

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776 Words | 4 Pages

Thus, it is a type of torture that the government uses to get information from terrorists. This means the CIA is using physical and mental torture to get the information. There are thirteen enhanced interrogation techniques, but the CIA uses four of them most of the time. The first is waterboarding, which is when agents tie a detainee to a bench and then pour water on his or her face. The second technique is sleep deprivation, which is when the detainee is kept awake standing up or in a painful position for 100–180 hours.

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1032 Words | 5 Pages

Some may argue the terrorist is responsible for putting himself in a situation where torture would be the only answer (Mayerfeld 2008). This argument undermines the terrorist’s perspective. Ultimately, the terrorists believe what they are doing is right and have concrete reasoning for their actions (Mayerfeld

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962 Words | 4 Pages

Annotated Bibliography-“How effective is torture in obtaining information?” “Brown Note” Myth Busters. Discovery channel. Artarmon 16 Feb. 2005. Television.

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955 Words | 4 Pages

Torture is universally prohibited in both national and International law worldwide. It is a fundamental violation of human rights that cannot be derogated from. Essentially, torture is said to constitute any physical and mental act by which severe pain or suffering is intentionally inflicted upon a person ( UNCAT).Torture is mainly used for purposes that are set out to degraded, embarrass, and induce destruction in the person being subjected to torture and those in close relation to the person being tortured .Torture is a mechanism used by those in authoritative positions to preserve themselves in power (Power, 2006:2). Despite the universal prohibition on torture, its use has been widespread throughout history, and especially of late in the wake of September 11 2001 and other recent terrorist atrocities to combat the aforementioned heinous terrorist attacks.

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1005 Words | 5 Pages

He is stating that torture should be allowed with rules instead of just torturing somebody to the extreme for some information. In the text it says, " We know, for example, if Sheikh Khalid Mohammed, a very high value detainee, was subjected to waterboarding. That is, he was placed on a board, his head was put into the water, near drowning experiences were inflicted on

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717 Words | 3 Pages

I. Introduction A. P. J. O 'Rourke once said “Everybody knows how to raise children, except the people who have them” (O’Rourke, Pg.10). Parents always want their children to be better than what they used to be when they were at their age; that is why they care about every detail in their children’s life especially when it comes to behavior, obeying them and listening to their words. B. Background Information: i. People came to realize that physical punishment is a rough, atrocious, unacceptable mean of punishment that should be banned for its appalling, horrifying effects. ii. Facts about physical punishment (sources used) 1.

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There is a worldwide trend in the use of penal imprisonment for serious offenses as capital punishment has been renounced by an increasing number of countries. Harsh punishments include capital punishment, life imprisonment and long-term incarceration. These forms of punishments are usually used against serious crimes that are seen as unethical, such as murder, assault and robbery. Many people believe that harsher punishments are more effective as they deter would-be criminals and ensure justice is served. Opposition towards harsh punishments have argued that harsher punishments does not necessarily increase effectiveness because they do not have a deterrent effect, do not decrease recidivism rates and do not provide rehabilitation.

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