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Is torture acceptable?

Poll

Is it ever acceptable to torture someone to death as a punishment for theft & murder?

QE2

Is torturing someone to death a sign of good moral character?
Would you respect someone who did it?

(edited 7 years ago)

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1

MrsSheldonCooper

I regularly torture jelly babies :colone:

Reply 2

Platopus

Original post by QE2

Is torturing someone to death the sign of good moral character?

How are you even asking this?

Reply 3

BaconandSauce

Original post by QE2

Is torturing someone to death the sign of good moral character?

No.

We as a society have tried our best to move forward in this regards and while we are not perfect I do believe the majority will say this is abhorrent

Reply 4

Vikingninja

There's a difference between your title and what you posted OP.

Reply 5

QE2

Original post by Platopus

How are you even asking this?

Because I want to find out what people's opinions are on this issue.

Reply 6

QE2

Original post by Vikingninja

There's a difference between your title and what you posted OP.

One is related to the other. I did not know that the OP had to be the same words as the title.

Reply 7

Gora The Xplorer

For certain crimes yes.

Reply 8

Platopus

Original post by QE2

Because I want to find out what people's opinions are on this issue.

Sorry, I just thought that the answer was a self evident NO.

Reply 9

jeremy1988

I think that torturing someone for information is acceptable in some instances, as long as you don't kill them or inflict permanent injury.

However, I would disagree with torturing someone to death because it serves no purpose. If your intention is to execute someone, it should be done in a relatively quick and painless manner, if it's done at all.

The way I see it, if you need information, you should leave the person alive and relatively free of injury, as killing someone doesn't help in extracting information. If you want to kill someone, then there's no need to cause them pain in the process. Torturing someone to death, therefore, is cruel and unnecessary even if you believe in extracting information through torture and in the death penalty as a valid form of punishment.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 10

alexschmalex

Maybe it's just because I just finished rewatching all the seasons of 24, but I think it's a last resort that we shouldn't be scared of. If it's a matter of life and death for others and it is the only way (as in everything else has been tried and didn't work) to get information needed to save them, then go for it. Some people need to wake up and realize that holding hands and trying to claim the moral high ground isn't always possible and won't always work.

Reply 11

Vikingninja

Original post by QE2

One is related to the other. I did not know that the OP had to be the same words as the title.

Well some peoples answers to each question would be completely different.

Physical torture, no.

Reply 14

Plagioclase

Original post by QE2

Is torturing someone to death a sign of good moral character?
Would you respect someone who did it?

Obviously not. How on earth can we claim to be better than the groups we call our enemies if we stoop down to barbarism ourselves?

Reply 15

math42

Original post by jeremy1988

I think that torturing someone for information is acceptable in some instances, as long as you don't kill them or inflict permanent injury.

How do you know they will give the correct information though?

Reply 16

QE2

Original post by Vikingninja

Well some peoples answers to each question would be completely different.

There is only one question on the poll.
The title and my OP are fundamentally connected.

No.

if we imagine a scenario where a guilty bomber knows information that could prevent innocent people dying, I would have no idea why it wouldn't be reasonable to torture the information out of them to save the others; not only is he guilty and responsible for the safety of those that might die via his bomb, but the torturers have no other choice in this situation. they are acting in self-defence, not via unprovoked aggression.

but it is *not* suitable to torture as a government punishment for a crime in my opinion. it's only suitable to save lives in certain conditions. torture is a massively horrifying process that mentally destroys people, sometimes permanently. prison, and the removal of liberty as a price for violating the law and the order, is a more safe/stable way of punishing people.