21st Annual Student Research Conference
The Justification of Torture
Timothy M. Weaks
Dr. John Quinn, Faculty Mentor
In today's post-9/11 world, although forbidden by the Geneva Convention, the issue of torture and criminal punishment is one that has gathered a lot of interest. With violence all over television and headlines of American prisoner abuse in newspapers, just how far is too far? In order to come to an answer, one must define what exactly constitutes "torture", determine if it could ever be justified, what it says about those who use it, and what effects it could have. Using multivariate analysis on data collected from Truman students, I attempt to determine what factors affect the formation of one's beliefs regarding torture in a "ticking time bomb" hypothetical including religion, political affiliation, ideology, ethnicity, gender, and their history of watching violent TV programs that depict torture, such as 24.
Keywords: Torture, Criminal Punishment, 9/11, 24, Geneva Convention, Violence, Terror
Topic(s):Political Science
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 25-3
Location: OP 2113
Time: 10:15