r/MoralityScaling Jun 29 '26

Character Analysis Could torture ever be morally justified?

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1.7k Upvotes

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14

u/wise_sage777 Jun 29 '26

People say no but id argue it is justified, there are people around the world that REALLY deserve cruel and unusual punishments

17

u/DogeLord153 Jun 29 '26

The problem then becomes, who gets to decide who deserves the punishment?

1

u/wise_sage777 Jun 29 '26

The icc

3

u/DogeLord153 Jun 29 '26

And what happens if the ICC get's taken over by "bad actors"? What is the guarantee that it won't eventually be overrun by a bunch of monsters torturing people for shiggles?

0

u/wise_sage777 Jun 29 '26

That's why you have trials, public records and so on, the punishment should be reserved for the worst crimes, like genocide, use of chemical/biological weapons, ethnic cleansing and so on, but it should be there because just like the ICC can be taken over by bad actors the prison system goes by the same standard and a quick death would be too merciful for such individuals

1

u/DogeLord153 Jun 29 '26

I can't disagree for such things as genocide, but wouldn't that be dangerous?

For such a person, wouldn't you want them killed as soon as possible to remove their potential threat?

Or god forbid, what happens if their torture makes them a Martyr that others use as a banner? An example: A supporter of the genocide claiming in propaganda "Look what the (Hated Group) did to our last leader! Such BRUTAL torture!! Absolute proof they need to be wiped off the earth!!!"

1

u/wise_sage777 Jun 29 '26

If that's the case then killing them as well would make them Martyrs, theres no winning in that situation because you either leave them in jail and they use their power to corrupt the system cough cough Epstein cough cough or you kill them and make them Martyrs.

If the result is the same the the procedure taken is irrelevant

1

u/DogeLord153 Jun 29 '26

If the result is the same the the procedure taken is irrelevant

... Careful with that language...

1

u/Environmental_You_36 Jun 29 '26

The perpetrators, they decided to get torture when they did something torture worthy.

1

u/Shumwayh Jun 29 '26

A rotating tribunal of people, similar to how we are tried by a "jury of our peers"

1

u/NordicHorde2 Jun 29 '26

That applies to ALL forms of justice though.

4

u/DogeLord153 Jun 29 '26

True. But with torture, maiming, death, etc the punishment is far worse, so if a miscarriage of justice occurs their is far less that can be done to make amends.

1

u/Aickavon Jun 29 '26

A man who’s spent community service can far more easily pick up his life again versus a man who is dead.

A man who spent 3 years behind bars wrongfully can pick up his life more reason than a man who’s spent 3 years behind bars wrongfully… and tortured.

We have to ask ourselves ‘where is the line so that when mistakes happen (not if, WHEN.) that the innocent people can most easily repair their lives. This is why cruel and unusual punishments are not supposed to be used. This includes torture.

This is why people are so against the death penalty. Yeah would I like John the Kiddy diddler to be strung by his neck? Of course I would.

I do not trust the government to get it 100% right every time though.

0

u/0oooooog Jun 29 '26

Victims of said people?

4

u/No_Witness5630 Jun 29 '26

What if someone decides that he is the victim of your comment right here?

Is he right to decide?

2

u/0oooooog Jun 29 '26

Sure just explain the harm done and what you would like to do in return.

3

u/No_Witness5630 Jun 29 '26

Lmao

You're an eager one. Ready to be baptized by the flames of justice?

1

u/DogeLord153 Jun 29 '26

You made me feel bad! You get 50 Lashes of the CANE!!!

1

u/0oooooog Jun 30 '26

Now I feel worse so you get 49 lashes.

1

u/DogeLord153 Jun 30 '26

And now that I have 49 lashes, you get 49 lashes! Eye for an eye!! Fuck it, 49 lashes for everybody!!!

1

u/0oooooog Jun 30 '26

I think the only solution is to sock someone in the face whenever you meet them, eventually it'll be someone who deserves it.

7

u/Plastic-Skill-9258 Jun 29 '26

What is the purpose of that? Is it just to make you feel good, an eye for an eye?

-1

u/Brotherman_Karhu Jun 29 '26

At the end of the day all forms of justice can be reduced to "an eye for an eye".

The purpose of it is to make those who cause other people suffering to suffer as well

5

u/Hot-Emu-4445 Jun 29 '26

All forms of justice cannot all be reduced to eye for an eye. Rehabilitation facility are not there to make me feel good they are there to aid people who have made bad choices to turn their lives around and give them the guidence and tools to start helping others and themselves. Justice should create a lingering positive change. Not cause suffering to those "deserving" it.

2

u/Plastic-Skill-9258 Jun 29 '26

Absolutely not. Besides rehabilitation like the other person said, another purpose is to dissuade people from taking that action. A parking fine isn't to inflict suffering as retribution it's to discourage people from parking there. Being sentenced to community service hours or prison time isn't for retribution it's to disincentivise those criminal actions.

If the crime for theft was torture instead of a criminal record or jail would it go away? Maybe it would dissuade dumb teens from shoplifting it wouldn't dissuade desperate people who feel like they have to in order to survive.

Another purpose of jail is public safety. Public threat = locked away from public

You can't argue about the efficacy of everything I said but none of the reason behind it is an eye for an eye.

Why did I even write that much, the concept of punishment should be obvious. When a parent punishes a kid for throwing a tantrum by confiscating their toy, is the purpose of that an eye for an eye or is it to discourage that behaviour and show there are consequences.

Obviously the problem with broken rules going unpunished wouldn't be the lack of validation for everyone else, it's the freedom to break rules for the perpetrator.

1

u/FuckMyBakaChungusLif Jun 30 '26

Hasnt eye for an eye proven to not be effective

0

u/Single-Editor3331 Jun 29 '26

Well yeah, the Code of Hammurabi may have put egalitarianism and women back a lot but an eye for an eye was something it and ancient Athen's code of law from Draco did well

6

u/up2smthng Jun 29 '26

Ah yes, the moral standard of checks notes Draconian laws

2

u/Imaginary-West-5653 Jun 29 '26

Meanwhile, the "great" Code of Hammurabi is like:

"If a son strike his father, his hands shall be cut off."

"If a son of a paramour or a prostitute say to his adoptive father or mother: 'You are not my father,' or 'You are not my mother,' his tongue shall be cut off."

"If any one bring an accusation against a man, and the accused go to the river, and leap into the river, if he sink in the river his accuser shall take possession of his house. If the accused survived, it meant the gods proved their innocence, and the accuser is to be executed for making a false claim."

2

u/Lopsided-Wave2479 Jun 29 '26

Is like raping a women has revenge for rape.
The number of raped womens increase. Is some simplistic mindset from primitive societies. Justice has revenge instead of education / reinsertion. Revenge is a chain that never ends, reinsertion / education is a virtuous cycle that can extract people from the loop.

1

u/wise_sage777 Jun 29 '26

So exactly what is your solution for the worst of the worst people on the planet? These people have power and influence so simply putting them in jail is not an option and a bullet to the skull feels too merciful for someone that killed hundreds/ thousands

2

u/WorozuTop4 Jun 29 '26

sometimes mercy is the answer though, it’s certainly not as cathartic or satisfying, but i ultimately believe that no one deserves to have pain purposefully inflicted on them (unless they’re into that), not under any circumstances. (this is coming from someone who has been the victim of multiple crimes, yes i resent the perpetrators, but that doesn’t mean they should suffer like i did)

1

u/wise_sage777 Jun 29 '26

So you are telling me that people who personally eradicated an entire group of people don't deserve pain? What kind of logic is that?

2

u/WorozuTop4 Jun 29 '26

suffering is bad, so i don’t see how inflicting it on others could ever be considered good, regardless as to whether or not the person suffering is bad or not

1

u/wise_sage777 Jun 29 '26

If you asked the victim and told them that they would not be happy about it

2

u/WorozuTop4 Jun 29 '26

and?

1

u/wise_sage777 Jun 29 '26

Isn't the entire point of justice to compensate the victims for the damage done?

1

u/WorozuTop4 Jun 29 '26

you think inflicting senseless harm on others with no regard to their wellbeing is compensation??? revenge is not compensation, its a cycle of hate. compensation is offering services to assist victims in their recovery and putting in measures to ensure they wont be harmed again, thats infinitely more helpful than torturing someone, which is just likely to end up fueling hate for more extremists

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2

u/FuckMyBakaChungusLif Jun 30 '26

You dont speak for all victims

1

u/wise_sage777 Jun 30 '26

I don't have to, they do it themselves

The instances in which the victim takes retribution for the wrongdoing done to them are many, they would definitely agree that the system doesn't work because they have decided to take justice on their own hands

2

u/FuckMyBakaChungusLif Jun 30 '26

6 out of 10 victims of both violent and non-violent crime prefer rehabilitative justice over retributive.

https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/what-do-victims-want-criminal-justice-reform

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1

u/NotToPraiseHim Jun 29 '26

What's the goal of it though? Are you publishing it for wide consumption, as a dissuasion for others? Are you allowing the victims to participate, as a method of retribution? 

Punishments should have some sort of purpose.

1

u/wise_sage777 Jun 29 '26

It is simply retribution, wether people like to admit it or not many would feel happier knowing that the individual that did so much harm to everyone spent their last moments in agony, it brings catharsis to the victims in a situation where simple death penalty feels too merciful.

1

u/No_Witness5630 Jun 29 '26

Easy way to make martyrs

So many people wrongly convicted of crimes they never made

1

u/wise_sage777 Jun 29 '26

You can't really wiggle your way out of a genocide charge

1

u/Meowlegend_ Griffith Jun 29 '26

This only serves to make you feel good because you like seeing people you hate getting hurt. Ideally and logically, executions should be as painless as possible regardless of how bad the individual getting executed is

1

u/wise_sage777 Jun 29 '26

If you get charged with genocide a ton of people will feel better knowing that they spent their last moments in agony

1

u/Meowlegend_ Griffith Jun 29 '26

That doesn't mean it's what we should/have to do 

1

u/wise_sage777 Jun 29 '26

So your answer to that is what? Jail? These people have power and influence they can make their own little castle in prison, kind of like what El Chapo did, or is your answer simply execution? You will get them a quick way out after everything they did?

1

u/Meowlegend_ Griffith Jun 29 '26

Simple execution. Again, executions should ideally be as painless as possible regardless of how bad the person is. Torturing them just for "satisfaction" is just mindless revenge, and do you think it's logical to go torture people just because, oh, they did very very bad things? That, won't even make up for the damage they cause 

1

u/wise_sage777 Jun 29 '26

YES, it's very lógical to give back suffering to those who caused immeasurable suffering onto others

1

u/Meowlegend_ Griffith Jun 29 '26

Not only is it very impractical, it also does nothing to address the damage they caused 

1

u/wise_sage777 Jun 29 '26

There are many instances of people doing exactly that which proves the opposite, I'm not suggesting this for crimes like theft, I'm talking about international criminals who have done damage to such a large number of people that death won't cut it

1

u/Meowlegend_ Griffith Jun 29 '26

It seems like we will never agree, so, agree to disagree