Is torture ever justified? Constantly, by those who use it to get what they want.
Is it ever justifiable? IMO, no. Our inhumanities to one another simply seem to perpetuate a state of profound distrust, power-over, fear, which btw seems like the tried and true policy of elites everywhere to maintain their sway over others; i.e., the replacement of the 'Iron Curtain' & the 'nasty, Evil-Empire' Soviets by the "Axis of Evil" Iranians, N. Koreans, Taliban, Al-Qaida, Venezuelan, etc, etc, add any nation or group that political leadership here doesn't like as paper tigers that will and are used to instill even more fear into the lives of USA white-folk for anything and anyone who doesn't embrace the suburban, shopping-mall culture with gusto. (Take a breath, Nichole!)
In the meantime, pass bills that limit freedom of movement, speech for those without ownership of print, electronic media, & pass out cards that delineate electronically every aspect of one's life that someone, a group of someone's, will use to extort, cow, terrorize anyone with the gumption to defy them, or even merely disagree with them.
One finds that torture, like all the other means of legal terrorism is eminently justifiable by someone, generally those in-power who wish to maintain their power-over the majority and continue what they perceive as the benefits of being the coldly materialistic bastards they have made themselves.
Is there a different way that might well be more humane and of value in allowing people to fully be themselves and perhaps cause the fear to diminish? Well, yes. And THAT should be employed.
Like Rebis said, "Don't do it."
So why do I feel like Cassandra? Making prophecies that no one will believe? Darn, should have gone to bed with that Apollo-fellow! *sigh*
Torture, like all those other inhumane and degrading to both victim and perp items, is not helpful.
Nichole
