Editing Torture (section)

==Purpose==
===Punishment===
[[File:China; the mutilated body of a man who had been dismembered Wellcome V0031254.jpg|thumb|The mutilated body of a man who was [[dismembered]] during the [[Boxer Rebellion]]]]
Torture for punishment dates back to antiquity and is still employed in the twenty-first century.{{sfn|Hajjar|2013|p=14}}
A common practice in countries with dysfunctional justice systems or overcrowded prisons is for police to apprehend suspects, torture them, and release them without a charge.{{sfn|Oette|2021|p=331}}{{sfn|Kelly ''et al.''|2020|p=73}} Such torture could be performed in a police station,{{sfn|Celermajer|2018|pp=167–168}} the victim's home, or a public place.{{sfn|Jensena ''et al.''|2017|pp=404, 408}} In South Africa, the police have been observed handing suspects over to [[vigilantes]] to be tortured.{{sfn|Kelly ''et al.''|2020|p=75}} This type of extrajudicial violence is often carried out in public to deter others. It discriminatorily targets minorities and marginalized groups and may be supported by the public, especially if people do not trust the official justice system.{{sfn|Kelly ''et al.''|2020|p=74}}

The classification of [[judicial corporal punishment]] as torture is internationally controversial, although it is explicitly prohibited under the [[Geneva Conventions]].{{sfn|Nowak|2014|pp=408–409}} Some authors, such as [[John D. Bessler]], argue that capital punishment is inherently a form of torture carried out for punishment.{{sfn|Nowak|2014|p=393}}{{sfn|Bessler|2018|p=3}} Executions may be carried out in brutal ways, such as [[stoning]], [[death by burning]], or dismemberment.{{sfn|Quiroga|Modvig|2020|pp=414, 422, 427}} The [[death row phenomenon|psychological harm of capital punishment]] is sometimes considered a form of psychological torture.{{sfn|Bessler|2018|p=33}} Others do not consider corporal punishment with a fixed penalty to be torture, as it does not seek to break the victim's will.{{sfn|Evans|2020|loc=The Definition of Torture}}

===Deterrence===
{{see also|Deterrence (penology)}}
Torture may also be used indiscriminately to terrorize people other than the direct victim or to deter opposition to the government.{{sfn|Hajjar|2013|p=23}}{{sfn|Pérez-Sales|2016|p=270}} [[Torture in the United States|In the United States]], torture was used to deter [[Slavery in the United States|slaves]] from escaping or rebelling.{{sfn|Young|Kearns|2020|p=7}} Some defenders of judicial torture prior to its abolition argued that it deterred crime; reformers contended that because torture was carried out in secret, it could not be an effective deterrent.{{sfn|Barnes|2017|pp=26, 38, 41}} In the twentieth century, well-known examples include the [[Khmer Rouge]]{{sfn|Hajjar|2013|p=23}} and anti-communist regimes in Latin America, who tortured and murdered their victims as part of [[forced disappearance]].{{sfn|Hajjar|2013|p=28}} Authoritarian regimes often resort to indiscriminate repression because they cannot accurately identify potential opponents.{{sfn|Blakeley|2007|p=392}} Many insurgencies lack the necessary infrastructure for a torture program and instead intimidate by killing.{{sfn|Rejali|2009|p=38}} Research has found that state torture can extend the lifespan of terrorist organizations, increase incentives for insurgents to use violence, and radicalize the opposition.{{sfn|Hassner|2020|pp=21–22}}{{sfn|Einolf|2023}} Another form of torture for deterrence is violence against migrants, as has been reported during [[pushback (migration)|pushbacks]] on the European Union's external borders.{{sfn|Guarch-Rubio ''et al''.|2020|pp=69, 78}}

===Confession===
{{further|Forced confession}} 
Torture has been used throughout history to extract confessions from detainees. In 1764, Italian reformer [[Cesare Beccaria]] denounced torture as "a sure way to acquit robust scoundrels and to condemn weak but innocent people".{{sfn|Evans|2020|loc=History of Torture}}{{sfn|Wisnewski|2010|p=26}} Similar doubts about torture's effectiveness had been voiced for centuries previously, including by [[Aristotle]].{{sfn|Wisnewski|2010|pp=26–27}}{{sfn|Barnes|2017|p=40}} Despite the abolition of judicial torture, it sees continued use to elicit confessions, especially in judicial systems placing a high value on confessions in criminal matters.{{sfn|Hajjar|2013|p=22}}{{sfn|Einolf|2022|p=11}} The use of torture to force suspects to confess is facilitated by laws allowing extensive [[pre-trial detention]].{{sfn|Rejali|2009|pp=50–51}} Research has found that coercive interrogation is slightly more effective than [[cognitive interview]]ing for extracting a confession from a suspect, but presents a higher risk of false confession.{{sfn|Pérez-Sales|2016|p=327}} Many torture victims will say whatever the torturer wants to hear to end the torture.{{sfn|Hassner|2020|p=16}}{{sfn|Rejali|2009|pp=461–462}} Others who are guilty refuse to confess,{{sfn|Rejali|2009|p=362}} especially if they believe it would only bring more torture or punishment.{{sfn|Einolf|2022|p=11}} Medieval justice systems attempted to counteract the risk of false confession under torture by requiring confessors to provide [[Falsifiability|falsifiable]] details about the crime, and only allowing torture if there was already some evidence against the accused.{{sfn|Barnes|2017|p=28}}{{sfn|Beam|2020|p=394}} In some countries, political opponents are tortured to force them to confess publicly as a form of [[state propaganda]].{{sfn|Hajjar|2013|p=22}}

===Interrogation===
{{main|Interrogational torture}}
[[File:Waterboarding a captured North Vietnamese soldier near Da Nang.jpeg|thumb|Two United States soldiers and one [[South Vietnam]]ese soldier [[Waterboarding|waterboard]] a captured [[North Vietnam]]ese prisoner of war near [[Da Nang]], 1968.]]

The use of torture to obtain information during interrogation accounts for a small percentage of worldwide torture cases; its use for obtaining confessions or intimidation is more common.{{sfn|Rejali|2020|p=92}} Although interrogational torture has been used in [[conventional war]]s, it is even more common in [[asymmetric war]] or civil wars.{{sfn|Hajjar|2013|p=22}} The [[ticking time bomb scenario]] is extremely rare, if not impossible,{{sfn|Carver|Handley|2016|p=36}}{{sfn|Hajjar|2013|p=4}} but is cited to justify torture for interrogation. [[Torture in popular culture|Fictional portrayals of torture]] as an effective interrogational method have fueled misconceptions that justify the use of torture.{{sfn|Rejali|2020|pp=92–93, 106}} Experiments comparing torture with other interrogation methods cannot be performed for ethical and practical reasons,{{sfn|Houck|Repke|2017|pp=277–278}}{{sfn|Hassner|2020|p=24}}{{sfn|Einolf|2022|p=2}} but most scholars of torture are skeptical about its efficacy in obtaining accurate information, although torture sometimes has obtained actionable intelligence.{{sfn|Einolf|2022|p=3}}{{sfn|Rejali|2020|p=71}} Interrogational torture can often shade into confessional torture or simply into entertainment,{{sfn|Hassner|2020|pp=16, 20}} and some torturers do not distinguish between interrogation and confession.{{sfn|Einolf|2022|p=2}}