The Pledge Against Torture

donald trump wants to bring back inhuman torture methods

The Eighth Amendment of the Constitution forbids the government from using cruel or unusual punishments, which has been interpreted by the Supreme Court for over a century as outlawing torture.  One would think that the prohibition of torture by the United States would be a settled issue in the year 2016, but the incoming Trump Administration has made it clear that it wants to explore legalizing torture by the United States.  Legalizing torture would run against the values our country stands for.  It would make it more difficult for us to pursue our national interests abroad and put our troops at risk.  We cannot allow torture to be legalized.

Trump advocates the use of simulated drowning 

President Trump has announced Mike Pompeo as his choice to head the Central Intelligence Agency.  Pompeo has defended the use of simulated drowning and other forms of torture as interrogation tools by military and intelligence agencies in statements to Congress.  We must do everything we can to prevent the appointment of Mike Pompeo and of anyone else who advocates the use of torture.  Click here to find the contact information for your Congressional representatives so that you can tell them to never allow defenders of torture to serve in our military or intelligence agencies.  The Committees of Correspondence is in the process of developing a sample email to your representative to use as a template – check back soon for details.

Tell your representative to sign the pledge!

The Committees of Correspondence is sponsoring a campaign urging all of our elected federal representatives to sign a short and simple Torture Prevention Pledge vowing to protect our nation’s highest principles at home and abroad by supporting the Eighth Amendment’s ban on torture.