Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Pain Of Torture Can Make Innocent Seem Guilty

http://www.screamingpoints.com/archives/torture.jpgThe rationale behind torture is that pain will make the guilty confess, but a new study by researchers at Harvard University finds that the pain of torture can make even the innocent seem guilty.

Participants in the study met a woman suspected of cheating to win money. The woman was then "tortured" by having her hand immersed in ice water while study participants listened to the session over an intercom. She never confessed to anything, but the more she suffered during the torture, the guiltier she was perceived to be. ...

"Our research suggests that torture may not uncover guilt so much as lead to its perception," says Gray.

via Pain Of Torture Can Make Innocent Seem Guilty.

Torture does not save lives. It creates false testimonies and false guilt. Didn't we learn that lesson during the Dark Ages? Didn't we learn that lesson during the Salem witch trials? Let the people in Gitmo stand trail for their crimes based on the evidence, or let them go so they can try to seek a little peace in their forever damaged minds during the amount of time they may have remaining on earth.

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