Why Torture Doesn't Work: The Neuroscience of Interrogation

This book is rooted in the release of "The Torture Memos," a set of documents detailing interrogation techniques used on Guantanamo Bay prison detainees. O'Mara (experimental brain research, Trinity Coll. Dublin) contends that aside from being abhorrent, torture is counterproductive since it causes brain impairment and faulty intelligence results. Diligently researched, the book reflects a neuroscience perspective yet is quite readable. The author reviews the historical use of torture with emphasis on the George W. Bush/Dick Cheney era. He provides an explanation of how the brain supports memory despite the persistence of distortions such as suggestibility, bias, and inaccurate eyewitness testimony. The limits of technology for truth detection and the effects of specific torture techniques such as manipulation of temperature, sleep, and nutrition are also discussed in terms of their impact on memory. Acknowledging the need for effective intelligence gathering, the author concludes with clear policy directives including proposed elements for a new "socio-cognitive" framework for interrogation. The book passionately confronts important political issues from the viewpoint of an emerging science. It complements other works on memory such as Elizabeth F. Loftus's Eyewitness Testimony.