Torture, a form of gender-related violence, can be seen to reflect and reinforce the power imbalances of patriarchal society (El-Bushra and Piza Lopez 1993:1). The use of rape and other forms of forced sexual penetration in times of warfare, for...

Torture, according to international law, is "any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing...

The National Association of Evangelicals has endorsed an anti-torture statement saying the United States has crossed "boundaries of what is legally and morally permissible" in its treatment of detainees and war prisoners in the fight against terror.Human rights violations committed in the name of preventing...

In the gardening world, the summer doldrums are brought on by two things: weeding and watering. They usually set in around July 4, but this year they came early. After transplanting dozens of greenhouse-nurtured annuals, I held my breath and waited for rain. When it...

Russia's war-scarred Chechnya region continues to be plagued by torture and unlawful detentions, with human rights violations rarely investigated, a European anti-torture committee said Tuesday.The Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture, which visited detention facilities in Chechnya twice in 2006, said in...

An endangered pet tortoise named Bob was stolen from his home and violently mutilated, authorities said, but is recovering.Bob was snatched from his owners' yard last weekend, stabbed, slashed and dumped in brush behind an apartment complex, authorities said. The 42-pound African spurred tortoise was...

In his article "Torture Logic," Charles Levendosky argues that a nation's use of torture to obtain information, no matter how justified it may be, negatively affects the society for whom the torture is used. The Bill of Rights to the Constitution prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. Moreover, by applying torture in the name of safety, our society stands to lose its moral compass.

Torture can not be justified in modern society that promotes personal rights and liberties. The need for information from prisoners, even to defend against terrorist attacks, does not wartrant a betrayal of our own values.