(DOWNLOAD) "Torture and the "Distributive Justice" Theory of Self-Defense: An Assessment (Essay)" by Ethics & International Affairs * Book PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Torture and the "Distributive Justice" Theory of Self-Defense: An Assessment (Essay)
- Author : Ethics & International Affairs
- Release Date : January 22, 2008
- Genre: Politics & Current Events,Books,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 306 KB
Description
On August 1, 2002, Assistant Attorney General lay Bybee presented to White House Counsel Alberto Gonzalez a memorandum addressing the question of what interrogation methods were prohibited by the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. (1) The memorandum, widely seen as a rubber stamp for the Bush administration's use of torture, adopted an extremely narrow definition of torture, holding that "certain acts may be cruel, inhuman or degrading, but still not produce pain or suffering of the requisite intensity to fall within Section 2340A's proscription against torture." (2) But while holding that the legal ban on torture "is limited to only the most extreme forms of physical and mental harm," the memorandum also addressed the question of when an interrogation method "might arguably cross the line" and constitute legally prohibited torture. (3) The memorandum argued that criminal liability for such conduct might be avoided by pleading the "standard criminal law defenses of justification and self-defense," where the use of torture was necessary to "elicit information to prevent a direct and imminent threat to the United States and its citizens." (4) The memorandum provoked widespread outrage both domestically and internationally when it was leaked, as it was seen as permitting the president to authorize the use of torture while denying he was doing so. Especially controversial was the limiting of the definition of "torture" to cases where the pain was "equivalent in intensity to the pain accompanying serious physical injury, such as organ failure, impairment of bodily function, or even death." (5) What has received far less attention are the defenses to a violation of the torture statute, especially the memorandum's claim that torturing a terrorist could be justified on the grounds of self-defense: