Q. Are authorities justified in torturing a prisoner if he/she possesses crucial, time-sensitive information that will save many innocent lives?
A. This hypothetical situation is often called “the ticking bomb scenario.” Researchers on the history of torture such as Dr. Alfred McCoy, author of the book A Question of Torture, have shown that this situation exists only in fiction. In reality, cracking terrorist plots takes long and patient investigative work and requires information obtained from multiple sources using humane methods of interrogation. The alternative is rounding up, torturing and summarily killing large numbers of persons, as the French military did during the Algerian War, an abomination that debases all involved.
However, the scenario in which one single suspect holds the key to saving the lives of many innocent persons makes for great TV drama. It recurs every week in the TV show “24,” which has made Jack Bauer a household name and even a new American hero.
Unfortunately, the CIA has not waited for crisis situations before resorting to inhumane methods of interrogation, and the constant discussion of the hypothetical ticking bomb scenario has led to the banalization of the idea of torture and to a disposition on the part of citizens to accept it as necessary for their safety.
Further reading:
Alfred McCoy, A Question of Torture. NY: Holt, 2006. See esp. pp. 196-203.
Essay by Dr. McCoy on the ticking bomb scenario:
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0925-26.htm
Q. Does the MCA give immunity to those who may have engaged in torture in the past?
The MCA grants some immunity for past abuses that occurred before passage of the Detainee Treatment Act in December 2005 (a.k.a. the McCain Amendment). This was done because the administration authorized abusive interrogation techniques for U.S. officials, including the military and the CIA, after 9/11. The majority of the Senate felt those individuals should not be held responsible for treatment they thought was legal because it was authorized by the administration.
See faq on Military Commissions Act by the Center for Victims of Torture:
http://www.cvt.org/main.php/Advocacy/TortureisUn-American/FAQs:MilitaryCommissionsAct
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