Argumentative Essay: Is Torture Justified?

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Imagine that someone has buried your family alive. You have the suspect in custody, but the only way to get the location of your family and save them, is if you torture the suspect. What do you do? By not torturing the suspect, your family dies, but is torture justified? I believe that in extreme circumstances torture is justifiable, when the lives of innocents outweigh the comfort of the guilty. In recent years torture has become a highly debated topic. After 9/11, President Bush authorized the use of torture against suspected terrorists of the United States. Although, torture is prohibited in international law, President Bush saw it as the only way to keep America safe. Torture is now a widespread interrogation method used across the world ("Human Rights Abuses in the USA"). Whether torture is justifiable is an ethical concept because it impacts human rights and dignity. Torture is only justified under extreme, time-sensitive situations when the lives of …show more content…
Additionally, those against torture believe that by using these cruel tactics, the United States is ruining their reputation, and subjecting themselves to scrutiny (McCain). They also think that these wrongdoers have a right to human dignity, and should be treated with such, regardless of what they have done. This is noted when Brattleboro Reformer proclaims, “the least we can do is acknowledge our malfeasance and reaffirm our commitment to the sanctity of human life, its dignity and the vision of those who sought to create a nation unlike any other, one that doesn 't rely on torture to protect its existence” ("Our Opinion: Torture Is Unjustifiable, Always and Forever"). This explains how anti-torture supporters feel as though to protect the foundation of this Nation and to respect human life, governments have to stop allowing

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