On Torture

In the Global War of Terror, people have questioned how far we should go in interrogating suspected terrorists, and at which point we should stop. How harsh is too harsh? One of the scenarios that the pro-torture camp employs is, "say there's a nuclear bomb in New York City set to go off in three hours. We have a person in custody who knows where it is, but the only way to get him to tell us is to attach a car battery to his testicles." In such a situation, what should we do, and what type of legislation should we have to deal with it? Ignoring the astronomically improbable likelihood of such a situation ever occurring, I have come to what in my opinion is the best solution to an untenable problem. Torture, in any and all forms should be illegal, and prohibited. However, if a situation such as a nuke in New York City were to occur, people would do what they had to do to prevent it from going off, including torture. In the investigation that would hopefully follow such an incident, if it was determined that the torturers were acting in a way that they felt was justified, than they ought not to be prosecuted. However, if we were to legislate guidelines to using torture, it would be used and abused in situations that did not require it. If it is kept absolutely illegal, it will only be used as an absolute last resort in the direst of circumstances.