Torture Is Ineffective Essay

The use of torture has long been a method of getting information in different types of situations. Perhaps governments use torture for the purpose of attaining information of the oppositions forces or plans. Or, perhaps the young boy down the street is torturing another boy to do his homework. In any case, both of these types of torture are forms of interrogation, which is the act of questioning to get information. However, after further looking into torture, many questions arise. For example, how effective is torture? Is torture a humane way to attain information? Are there other more effective and humane ways to get information? These are some questions out of many that come from a big debate on torture. In this paper, I will explore these

Over the years, the methods and techniques to torture have changed greatly. As the cartoon at right depicts, todays interrogation methods don’t seem too effective. One question arises about torture: is it really as effective as many governments claim it is?
How Effective is Torture? Torture has gained much attention throughout the years, and has sparked a big debate. Is torture effective? A recent poll conducted by students and professors at Reed College shows that nearly 54% of people think that torture is ineffective (“U.S. Public Opinion on Torture” 438). Those who think it is infective have several reasons for backing up their claim that torture is ineffective. However, the other 46% of people would not simply recommend torture if it was ineffective. A recent interview with Mr. Zaid Sohail, medical student at UW-Madison, adequately sums up the view of many Americans today. Mr. Sohail was asked what he thought about the current torture system, involving brutal physical pain in the United States to which he responded, “I think that methods of torture are more inhumane and traumatizing than what they should be. I think that torture shouldn’t exist at all”. Many people who say that torture is ineffective think of it as heinous;