200 Words on Torture

Torture is evil. Those who advocate, support, or defend its use perpetrate evil. Any information gained through torture is unreliable, counter-productive, and only reflects what the torturer wants to hear rather than anything resembling truth. Torture cannot be condoned under any circumstance to any person, citizen or not, no matter the suspected crime or the imagined threat, whether performed on native soil or foreign shores.

Evil, even if conducted with good intentions, is still evil and any society who claims the mantle of righteousness, morality, and liberty must reject the practice of torture. Though clichéd and corny, the moral that the good must not employ the tools of evil, not "stoop to their level," and instead "take the moral high ground" still rings true. War can be a tool to (ultimately) stop violence, but torture is never justified. Excusing cruel and unusual punishment for the "greater good" only undermines the very principles for which the "greater good" stands.

Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted and proclaimed in 1948 by the General Assembly of the United Nations states it plainly: "No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment."

Links:
Universal Declaration of Human Rights