Is the use of torture ever justified in dealing with criminals and terrorists?

I feel that the usage of torture is never justified in dealing with criminals and terrorists.

Torture is usually inflicted on detainees suspected of holding criminal or terror-related information. Thus it does not necessarily prove that the detainee himself is actually guilty of whatever crimes he has been accused of. What if he really is an innocent man? Does it mean that the true culprit is still at large, and another man is reluctantly standing in his place, suffering for nothing? Sometimes, torture can kill detainees, which makes the method unjustified, even more so when the casualty is innocent.

Furthermore, it has also been proven that torture is less effective than patiently persuading criminals or terrorists in extracting information. Though there had been some successes in retrieving information through means of torture, patiently persuading suspects into cooperating had proven to be much effective. In addition, innocent men wrongly convicted of their crimes may provide interrogators with bogus information in order to stop the pain, which would cause delays and a waste of resources in solving the crime.

When the detainees are cleared of charges or proven innocent, they might resent their experiences and turn against the authorities, committing crimes as a form of revenge. Innocent terror suspects might also join terrorist groups as a form of revenge. Hence it is shown that torture might cause detainees to really commit the crimes they were accused of, worsening the current situation.

Torture is also inhumane. It infringes upon the basic rights of a human being. Detainees do not usually get to have a series of trials, which is already an infringement of their rights. Furthermore, detainees are made to go through a series of painful experiences without their personal consent.

And is it really right to put a person suspected of putting others in pain through the same thing as his victims? Interrogators should not put their detainees through the same pain as their victims, for it would make the investigators themselves not much different from the criminals. Both inflict pain on people in order to get what they want. Instead, by using the 'soft' method of persuasion, the criminals themselves may feel guilty and start to become remorseful, hencing complying to the investigators' demands.

Though torture is here to stay, we should try to minimize the usage of it as far possible. Torture is inhumane, infringing the basic rights of a human. Torture also has devasting consequences on security too since it might cause resentment within the detainees.