Ted Cruz is Wrong, Waterboarding is Considered Legal Torture By Most

During Saturday night’s ABC debate, Ted Cruz told the audience that waterboarding is not considered torture under any legal definition. His claim appears to be derived from a controversial 2002 Bush Administration Memo, which has been widely disputed and discounted. According to most other legal definitions, waterboarding seems to meet the definition of torture.

Here is what Cruz said when asked if waterboarding is torture:

“Well, under the definition of torture, no, it’s not. Under the law, torture is excruciating pain that is equivalent to losing organs and systems, so under the definition of torture, it is not. It is enhanced interrogation, it is vigorous interrogation, but it does not meet the generally recognized definition of torture.”

In fairness, Cruz,  isn’t the only GOP candidate who believes that waterboarding isn’t torture. Regardless, Cruz seemed to make a legal claim so let’s first look at Cruz’s definition of torture. It seems to differ from United Nations Convention Against Torture, which was ratified by the U.S. Senate in 1990. Here is this definition:

Read the rest of this story over at LawNewz.com

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.

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