A Case For Torture

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Recommended: Situations where torture is acceptable

Torture: Not the Answer, But an Answer
War, crime, and death are subjects that most don’t like to talk or even hear about, but unfortunately in today’s world, it is our reality. We hear of the horrible and inhumane things that go on in our world every day, and when it comes to war, crime, and death, another controversial topic gets brought up: torture. In A Case for Torture, author Mirko Bagaric speaks of torture and how sometimes, unfortunately, torture is not only recommended, but necessary when it comes to the safety of the public. Bagaric explains that although torture is never a pretty thing, sometimes the loss and pain of one criminal could lead to the saved lives of perhaps not just one, but many innocent people. Growing up in this country hearing about war, it is easy to agree with this statement. Torture will never truly be the right thing to do, but sometimes it simply has to be done, for the good of the public.
In his article, Bagaric states that torture sometimes simply has to be done for the good of the public throughout the article. He begins by saying that war is wrong, but sometimes there are exceptions that we need to recognize. “The belief that torture is always wrong is, however, misguided and symptomatic of the alarmist and reflexive responses typically emanating from social commentators.” (Bagaric, 226). He states that one cannot simply say that torture is wrong and be done with it, that there are exceptions to the fact that torture is wrong. The immediacy of a situation can cause an official to look to torture in order to help him save a life or lives when time is running out. Bagaric uses the example of a hostage situation to the point of both immediacy and of self-defense. He states that a policeman should ...

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...st as bad as watching an innocent person die in front of you and doing nothing about it.
Torture is a very controversial topic around the world, with perhaps just as much for it as against it. However, the idea of torture in limited circumstances is one that needs to be talked about in order to save thousands of innocent lives. In “A Case for Torture”, written by Mirko Bagaric, the author comes to the conclusion that maybe torture will never be the right option, but it is an option to seriously consider when the lives of innocent people are at stake. Throughout his article, Bagaric makes several persuasive key points on why torture can, in some circumstances, be the right thing to do. Through this article we learn that although torture will never truly be the right thing to do when dealing with crime and war, sometimes it’s a necessary act that we need to accept.

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