American psychologist James Mitchell
2017 interview, the difference between legal and necessary:
When considering torture, the conversation around deontological and consequentialism is maybe the wrong way to think about it. We should also consider duty. One cannot say that torture is a moral good, but that is not always the point that matters. Depending on the circumstances, one may have a greater responsibility to one group vs the other.
Then one has a moral imperative to do everything to ensure that they can, to ensure that the group that one holds the greater duty is unharmed. The second group, can always end torture through cooperation. Torture is not the best choice, but that doesn’t mean ruling it out improves the situation.
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