Take action to demand accountability for torture

Dear Mr. Attorney General:

We, the undersigned, 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.

Decisions to officially authorize torture, and acts that constitute torture, are illegal. Such acts violate a litany of laws, binding international treaties, and the Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Amendments to our Constitution. If torture is illegal, those who conduct or enable it should face investigation and, if warranted, prosecution.

The hypocrisy evident in allowing government officials throughout the chain of command to go unpunished for such heinous violations, when so many of our nation’s prisons are full of people guilty of far less serious offenses, makes a mockery of the equal justice under law that we so proudly present as a symbol of our country’s supposed commitment to its principles.

Some have suggested that an effort to investigate or prosecute our nation’s highest officials would prevent us from moving beyond this dark past. In fact, it would do the opposite by shining the light of day on our country’s actions and enabling us to prevent such violations—which will only recur if we allow these crimes to go unexamined—in the future.

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 concerned Americans

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