there is torture, then there is torture.

to reply to the original subject of this thread:

[opinion] in my mind, the only thing that justifies torture is if there are lives directly at stake- that this person has put in danger. lets give an example- a person knows the combination to deactivate a timed bomb that is threatening the lives of numerous people. there is no other way to find out the "deactivation code" other than to get it out of this person, and torture is the only way.

i don't believe that anyone should ever, ever, ever be tortured for something that they have done. killed, yes, (the death penalty being the only subject in this category), but never tortured. IMO, nothing justifies torturing anothe person for no reason other then that they have done something bad, or for their skin color, or their religion, or whatever the reason for torture. that is just cruel, and anyone who could inflict that kind of pain on another person for no reason has got to rethink their ethics. [torture\]