Torture

Things to ponder.

Considerable philosophical effort has been put into explaining how one can relent in order to save Manhattan but still endorse an absolute torture ban. The doctrine of ''dirty hands,'' discussed by the political philosopher Michael Walzer in a landmark 1971 essay, argues that the torturer who saves Manhattan must still face criminal charges. Walzer concedes torture will happen in this situation but insists it must remain illegal. And if the torturer's sentence is suspended, as seems possible, he still must ask his God or conscience for forgiveness-acknowledging that, while necessary, his actions were immoral.

Harvard Law School's Alan Dershowitz points out a practical problem with this approach, drawing on his experiences with trials. Imagine things happen as Walzer describes them. No jury would convict a torturer who saved a city. Yet a jury might well convict and punish a torturer who had every reason to think she was saving a city, but failed for reasons outside her control.