Argumentative Essay On Torture

It is sick. Revolting. Up to 90% of countries contain some form of it. Torture. It dominates peoples’ lives. Lives that are precious. Lives that are destroyed. Torture is defined by the UN as, “any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person”(Ten Facts to Know About Torture). Torture includes forms that range from physical beatings to being stripped of all dignity. While most torture is physical, the mental effects take a massive toll on the victim and even the people surrounding the victim(Key Facts). And, of course, as most people know, torture was infamously used by the Japanese and in the Holocaust in World War II. World War II was common breeding ground for torture as a lot of information was needed and torture seemed to be the best way to get it(Roberts). In many ways, World War II was the effect of earlier torture places, camps, and prisons; however, World War II was also the mother to modern torture devices, ideas, and events.

Torture has been around for centuries. Religious groups practiced torture as modes of punishment within the religion. During medieval times, torture was considered an acceptable form of punishment and way to get information within courts. Up until World War II, torture was considered normal. It was just acceptable in society. People who break the law have to suffer through it(Woodard). Leading up to World War II, torture was practiced all around the city of Berlin, Germany in secret houses, prisons, and camps. One such location is a café turned murder basement on a quiet street. Little do the investigators know, there are 220 more of these torture sites all around Berlin. This web of torture, not only in Berlin, but a...

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... in World War II led to the creation of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Geneva Convention. Both prohibited and made torture illegal (Woodard). But torture does not stop there. Torture is just as present in today’s world as it was decades ago. Recently, pro-Ukraine citizens have been abducted and tortured for supporting their country. Pro-Russians obviously do not agree with them and torture seems as if it is the best way to deal with them(Bigg). From ancient times to 2014, torture is used to punish people for either breaking the law or simply not conforming to other peoples’ beliefs. Sure it seems as if our world today is completely different, which it is, but that is just the physical look of it. The people in society haven’t changed. They still have their cruel, cold hearts. And that is not going to change anytime soon.