Why Torture Doesn't Work

Guest: Shane O’Mara, Ph. D., Professor of Experimental Brain Research at Trinity College in Dublin  We now know that the nation’s largest professional organization for psychologists colluded with the US government to sanction the use of torture to interrogate detainees in the War on Terror. An external report commissioned by the American Psychological Association found that its own officials were involved in developing the interrogation techniques and offered an air of legitimacy that helped the Bush Administration and Justice Department argue tactics, such as waterboarding and extreme sleep deprivation, were safe and did not constitute torture.  If we step away from the political and ethical debates over torture, we’re left with the science of it. And on that front, Shane O’Mara, says the evidence is clear: torture doesn’t work. O’Mara is a professor of experimental brain research at Trinity College in Dublin, and author of the forthcoming book: “Why Torture Doesn’t Work: The Neuroscience of Interrogation,” from Harvard University Press.