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67 Wash. & Lee L. Rev. 77 (2010)
A Dark Descent into Reality: Making the Case for an Objective Definition of Torture

handle is hein.journals/waslee67 and id is 79 raw text is: A Dark Descent into Reality: Making the Case for an Objective Definition of Torture Michael W. Lewis* Abstract The definition of torture is broken. The malleability of the term severe pain or suffering at the heart of the definition has created a situation in which the world agrees on the words but cannot agree on their meaning. The V know it when I see it nature of the discussion of torture makes it clear that the definition is largely left to the eye of the beholder. This is particularly problematic when international law's reliance on self-enforcement is considered After discussing current misconceptions about intelligence gathering and coercion that are common to all sides of the torture debate, this Article describes the reality of intelligence collection. It then reviews the wide range of competing definitions of torture: those provided by international courts, those proposed by commentators, and those implemented by governments around the world. Some proposed definitions are so broad that practically any form of interrogation would be illegal, others so narrow as to allow for a wide variety of shockingly brutal techniques. What becomes apparent, not surprisingly, is that people or governments under pressure from terrorist attacks view the definition of severe pain and * Associate Professor of Law at Ohio Northern University Pettit College of Law. As a former combat aviator I have personal experience with the SERE training techniques that are at the core of the debate about coercive interrogations at Guantanamo Bay. I would like to thank the many participants in the 2008 Oxford University Roundtable on Global Security for their comments on my presentation of a draft of this Article, as well as the participants in the Wake Forest National Security Law Scholars Conference for their recommendations. I would also like to thank Professor Bobby Chesney of the University of Texas School of Law for his review of early drafts of this Article, Professor John Paul Jones of the University of Richmond School of Law for his many comments and substantial input, Professor John Parry of Lewis and Clark School of Law for his review and suggestions, and Professor Jens Ohlin of Cornell University for his suggestions concerning the discussion of reciprocity. I would also like to thank my research assistant, Kyle Bickford, for his tireless efforts. 77

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