Clergy and Lay-leaders: Take action to demand accountability for torture

The Honorable Eric H. Holder
Attorney General of the United States
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001

Dear Mr. Attorney General:

We, the undersigned people of faith, write to share our concerns that your office’s decision to conduct only a limited investigation of the torture of detainees in U.S. custody—one that appears to ignore and entirely overlook potential crimes by former senior officials—is endangering our nation’s fundamental values and our credibility as a worldwide human rights leader. We are encouraged by your decision to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate crimes related to torture, as well as by recent calls from Americans from all walks of life, including veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, for the disclosure of all evidence of torture--including photos reportedly depicting rape that remain secret.

The full investigation of potential crimes, as others have pointed out, holds profound implications for our nation’s international legitimacy and future opportunities to credibly promote human rights. It also holds immense importance for the future historical record, as well as the policy debates on detention, surveillance, and other violations of civil liberties under the Obama administration going forward.

Our concern here is more specific, reflecting our particular perspective as people of faith. Though we come from different faith traditions, we stand united in championing not the transitory values of the marketplace or any particular political position, but rather the transcendent values that affirm the inherent dignity and worth of all human beings.

In this world, countless natural outrages assault the security of human beings—accidents of birth, hurricanes, fires, droughts, and floods—about which we can do very little. But torture is not one of those outrages; it is an outrage of human origin perpetrated against other humans. We decry torture, which degrades and debases not only the victim, but also the perpetrator and the nation that countenances it. It is not enough, however, to decry the offense. We must also seek justice for those who have been wronged, and repent of our part in the wrongdoing.

As a nation, we have long prided ourselves on our ideals, and congratulated ourselves on serving as a refuge for the persecuted victims of governments in other lands. Now, we must have the collective courage to face, before the world, the truth of what our nation has done to others. Just as our beliefs lead us to condemn crimes against all, including the “least” of humankind, so also do they lead us to demand accountability of all, including those who hold themselves to be humankind’s “greatest.”

Those who oppose the appointment of a special prosecutor argue strategically that the secrets that might be revealed are too dangerous, or that the public strife engendered by the resulting trials will be too costly. We believe that we must bear whatever price is exacted of us in the process of prosecuting and bringing to justice all those who have had a hand in torture, in order to restore the transcendent values that make life worth living.

We urge you, in your capacity as our nation's senior prosecutor, to restore the rule of law by ensuring its equal application to all.

Respectfully submitted,
The undersigned clergy and religious lay-leaders

cc: The Honorable David Ogden, Deputy Attorney General
The Honorable Lanny A. Breuer, Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division
The Honorable Dianne Feinstein, Chairperson, U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
The Honorable Christopher S. Bond, Vice Chairman, U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
The Honorable John D. Rockefeller IV, U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
The Honorable Orrin Hatch, U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
The Honorable Ron Wyden, U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
The Honorable Olympia J. Snowe, U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
The Honorable Evan Bayh, U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
The Honorable Saxby Chambliss, U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
The Honorable Barbara A. Mikulski, U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
The Honorable Richard Burr, U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
The Honorable Russell D. Feingold, U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
The Honorable Tom Coburn, U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
The Honorable Bill Nelson, U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
The Honorable James Risch, U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
The Honorable Sheldon Whitehouse, U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence