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December 2, 2008 10:41:24 AM CST

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Confessions From Torture Must Be Tossed

Posted Feb 17, 08 1:57 PM CST in US 

(Newser) – So-called “confessions” obtained by waterboarding should be tossed out of court, Guantanamo's ex-chief military prosecutor writes in the New York Times. Morris Davis quit over the practice last year and regrets that the Pentagon is allowing waterboarding evidence to prosecute six 9/11 suspects. "Military justice has a proud history. This was not one of its finer moments."

Waterboarding also erodes Americans' "good guys" status, Davis writes. Americans could once say of torture, “we don’t do stuff like that"; today, the phrase must be “we generally don’t do stuff like that." But “virtues requiring caveats are not virtues,” Davis warns. "Saying a man is honest is a compliment. Saying a man is 'generally' honest or honest 'quite often' means he lies."

Source New York Times

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CIA Director Lt. Gen. Michael Hayden testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2008. Hayden said waterboarding may be illegal. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)   (Associated Press)
Col. Morris Davis, former chief prosecutor, speaks to reporters after the first hearing of the U.S. Court of Military Commission review in Washington, Friday, Aug. 24, 2007. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)   (Associated Press)
Guantanamo guards keep watch over a cell block with detainees in Camp 6 maximum-security facility in this Oct. 9, 2007 file photo, at Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base, Cuba. Some Guantanamo inmates have...   (Associated Press)
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torture • September 11 • Guantanamo prisoners • waterboarding • Michael Hayden • Morris Davis


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