Waterboarding is Not Unconstitutional
By William A. Levinson
The Constitution does not forbid the infliction of physical pain on another person to force his compliance with certain courses of action. The Bill of Rights says specifically that no person "shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself" and it also bans cruel and unusual punishments. It is therefore unconstitutional to use torture to (1) force somebody to confess to a crime, or (2) as a punishment.
Let's review the context in which these statements were written. It was standard practice in many European countries to torture suspects to force them to confess to crimes and also to name accomplices. Tortures such as breaking on the wheel and burning alive were meanwhile used as punishments in most parts of Europe. The Founding Fathers decided quite rightly that neither practice had any place in their new Republic.
It is normally a serious felony to intentionally or even recklessly kill another human being. Both the law and common sense say however that the law's hypothetical "reasonable person" can do exactly that to protect himself or another innocent person from an imminent threat of death or serious physical harm. A police officer may be duty bound to kill an individual if that is what it takes to stop him from killing, raping, or seriously injuring an innocent person.
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http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/05/waterboarding_is_not_unconst... Tags: USA, advanced, constitution, fathers, founding, interrogation, techniques, torture, waterboarding
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