Sullivan Responds

I have to say, this response is better than I expected. (Sorry for the required registration.) Take a look for yourself. The essential result of this essay, as I see it, is an admission that torture may be used in the highly improbable scenario of massive imminent death with a known source of information to disrupt it, but it should still be outlawed and should never be used in any other case. The person in power (the President most likely) would have to break the law to stop the massacre, but if it was appropriate Sullivan assumes pardons will be applied as necessary. I like it. In the situation when torture is morally justified, it is still used; however, every possible means of containing torture is implemented, including perilous legal repercussions for those who employ it. If someone is willing to sacrifice a person to torture, they better be willing to sacrifice themselves to the law and the mercy of the courts. Again, I like it.