Scalia On Interrogation: Imminent Threat? Smack ‘Em In The Face
“Dats right…get Tony “Smack ‘em” Scalia over here…we’ll get this puke to talk…”
WASHINGTON - Conservative U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said on Tuesday some physical interrogation techniques can be used on a suspect in the event of an imminent threat, such as a hidden bomb about to blow up.
In such cases, “smacking someone in the face” could be justified, the outspoken Scalia told the BBC. “You can’t come in smugly and with great self satisfaction and say ‘Oh it’s torture, and therefore it’s no good.’”
His comments come amid a growing debate about the Bush administration’s use of aggressive interrogation methods on terrorism suspects rights after the September 11 attacks, including the use of a widely condemned interrogation technique known as waterboarding.
Scalia said that it was “extraordinary” to assume that the U.S. Constitution’s ban on “cruel and unusual punishment” also applied to “so-called” torture.
“To begin with the Constitution … is referring to punishment for crime. And, for example, incarcerating someone indefinitely would certainly be cruel and unusual punishment for a crime,” he said in an interview with the Law in Action program on BBC Radio 4.
Scalia said stronger measures could be taken when a witness refused to answer questions.
“I suppose it’s the same thing about so-called torture. Is it really so easy to determine that smacking someone in the face to determine where he has hidden the bomb that is about to blow up Los Angeles is prohibited in the Constitution?” he asked.
“It would be absurd to say you couldn’t do that. And once you acknowledge that, we’re into a different game” Scalia said. “How close does the threat have to be? And how severe can the infliction of pain be?”
Scalia, who has long supported capital punishment, also ridiculed European criticism of the death penalty in the United States.
“If you took a public opinion poll, if all of Europe had representative democracies that really worked, most of Europe would probably have the death penalty today,” he said.
“There are arguments for it and against it. But to get self-righteous about the thing as Europeans tend to do about the American death penalty is really quite ridiculous,” he said.
(Reuters)
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I absolutely LOVE Justice Scalia. I wish we had more of him on the bench. The man actually uses his brain and common sense. He HAS read and understands The United States Constitution … AS WRITTEN! No nuances or maybes …
I [think] it’s Justice Stephen Breyer (we should follow the European/foreign laws in our decisions on the bench) that Scalia has made to look like a total clueless ass in informal debates.
February 12th, 2008 at 1:42 pmAaah! My favorite Justice! You tell ‘em, Antonin! And … think about this — he’s a 2nd Generation American. He’s not that far removed from the “old Country” … his parents were born there, after all.
February 12th, 2008 at 1:43 pmThe one thing that I can honestly say about what I know, is Antonin Scalia does not mince words, and is all about common sense.
We need more like him on the Supreme Court
February 12th, 2008 at 1:47 pmWho gets to name the next SCJ’s is as big an issue as the war on terror. We need a miracle.
February 12th, 2008 at 2:22 pmPeeling the hide off a terrorist should be acceptable, both here in the US, and anywhere else in the world.
Radical Islam is sub human.
February 12th, 2008 at 2:25 pm“If you took a public opinion poll, if all of Europe had representative democracies that really worked, most of Europe would probably have the death penalty today,” he said.”
I am afrait, it ain’t possible anymore, it’s written in the constitution.
I wouldn’t mind if kinder killers and serial killers would end with the guillotine
February 12th, 2008 at 2:54 pm