Torture Methods

Introduction

Torture is defined as “the act of causing severe physical pain as a form of punishment or as a way to force someone to do or say something”(Oxford, 2015)

Torture is one of the most extreme forms of human violence, resulting in both physical and psychological consequences. Torture methods are notoriously used on imprisoned criminals. Convicted criminals often withhold information that needs to be extracted. This information may lead investigators to further clues about other dangerous criminals and what they are planning. Some modern torture methods include: starvation, waterboarding and solitary confinement.

To acquire the information that is locked up in the minds of prisoners, governments have used these various torture methods.

When exposed to more sleep deprivation, a person becomes emotional, hungry and clumsier than usual. Sleep deprivation leaves a person physically and mentally impaired. It lowers the inhibitors in the brain, causes hallucinations and psychologically drains the body of its resources. (Gelber, 2010)

The average adult needs seven to nine hours of sleep each night. Most adults do not get that amount of sleep. Too little sleep, generally understood to mean six hours or less per night, can be serious enough to alter the genes. Researchers believe that up to 700 genetic changes result from one weeks worth of sleep deprivation. (Siddique, 2013)

For example: RNA, a molecule that essentially acts as a messenger and carries DNA instructions that create proteins, is effected by sleep deprivation. Experts have shown that an extreme lack of sleep can cause a decrease in RNA functioning. This may cause genes to mutate and proteins to deform. The lack of sleep can also change patterns in the way the genes are activated and deactivated. This results in a disruption of the circadian clock. (Bradley,

Menachem Begin, Anna Skripnikova and John Schlapobersky all testify to the draining power of sleep deprivation.

Sleep deprivation has been used for centuries and is continuing to be used owing to this effective nature On the one hand, preventing a suspect from sleeping lowers his inhibitors and makes him more likely to reveal important information in exchange for the opportunity to resume sleeping. On the other hand, continuous, long-lasting denial of sleep can cause persistent psychological and brain damage while at the same time yielding inaccurate or hallucinatory confessions. It is in this balance that military organizations try to operate.

Sleep deprivation leaves a person physically and mentally impaired. If prolonged, sleep deprivation may lead to genetic mutations, heart attack and obesity. Sleep deprivation is used by governments to lower the pain thresholds of their victims. However, more importantly, it also renders prisoners susceptible to releasing important