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Monday 27 April 2009
Who Would Jesus Torture?

Our founding fathers rejected torture, and so should we. They specifically wrote two amendments to our Constitution to prevent it—the Fifth and Eighth Amendments. These Amendments outlawed torture.

The Fifth Amendments says, “No person … shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself.” In the Eighteenth Century European monarchies routinely “compelled,” or tortured, suspected criminals. The founders of our Republic wanted America to be different. They recognized the fact that government officials are not infallible. They make mistakes. Torturing an individual to gain information is wrong.

The Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution says, no “cruel and unusual punishments [shall be] inflicted.” Torture is both cruel and unusual. It is cruel and unusual to strip a person and put them in a box. It is cruel and unusual to strap a person to a board, invert the board, place a rag in the person’s mouth and then pour water down his throat. Our founders rejected this barbaric conduct.

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