S.J.R. 5

1

JOINT RESOLUTION CONDEMNING USE OF
2 TORTURE
3 2006 GENERAL SESSION
4 STATE OF UTAH
5 Chief Sponsor: Scott D. McCoy
6 House Sponsor: ____________
7
8 LONG TITLE
9 General Description:
10 This joint resolution of the Legislature condemns the use of torture by the United States
11 Government.
12 Highlighted Provisions:
13 This resolution:
14 . affirms international laws prohibiting torture and condemns the use or threatening
15 the use of torture by the United States Government; and
16 . opposes statements by the United States Government that torture is acceptable in a
17 "state of emergency."
18 Special Clauses:
19 None
20
21 Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
22 WHEREAS, the use of torture and coercive interrogative practices is inhumane, illegal,
23 and destructive of the democratic sensibilities of a free society;
24 WHEREAS, torture, regardless of circumstance, humiliates and debases the torturer
25 and the tortured alike;
26 WHEREAS, the threat or use of torture and similar practices of coercing testimony,
27 confessions, or information is universally condemned under international law, including the

28 Geneva Convention and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948;
29 WHEREAS, torture denies the preciousness of human life and the dignity of every
30 human being by reducing its victims to the status of despised objects, no matter how noble the
31 cause for which it is employed;
32 WHEREAS, the right to be free of unreasonable search or seizure, which encompasses
33 the right not to be abused by the police, is guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment to the United
34 States Constitution;
35 WHEREAS, the Constitution's Fifth Amendment protections against self-incrimination
36 encompass the right to remain silent during interrogations;
37 WHEREAS, the Constitution's Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments guarantees of due
38 process ensure fundamental fairness in the criminal justice system;
39 WHEREAS, the Constitution's Eighth Amendment guarantees the right to be free of
40 cruel and unusual punishment;
41 WHEREAS, the United States Government has proven its readiness to use torture,
42 including practices such as hooding, shackling, drugging, and sleep deprivation, in the
43 interrogation of suspected terrorists or suspected accomplices in its "war on terror";
44 WHEREAS, the secrecy which attends the use of torture violates the nation's history of
45 commitment to open government and the necessity of true and accurate information regarding
46 our government's actions;
47 WHEREAS, the violence of torture violates America's commitment to the rule of law
48 as a protector of the integrity and dignity of the human person;
49 WHEREAS, the barbarity of torture fundamentally violates America's commitment to
50 the preservation of the human spirit; and
51 WHEREAS, on November 9, 2005, the General Assembly of the National Council of
52 Churches USA and Church World Service declared as unacceptable "any and all use of
53 torture," and stated that it was "contrary to U.S. and international legal norms":
54 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah
55 affirms that the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or
56 punishment is absolute and nonderogable.
57 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature condemns the use or threat of use
58 of torture by the United States Government as a barbarous violation of human rights,

59 intellectual freedom, and the rule of law.
60 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature opposes the suggestion by the
61 United States Government that under a "state of emergency" in this nation, or in territories it
62 occupies, torture is an acceptable tool in pursuit of the nation's goals.
63 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be sent to the President of
64 the United States, the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United
65 States House of Representatives, and to the members of Utah's congressional delegation.




Legislative Review Note
as of 1-10-06 3:38 PM

Based on a limited legal review, this legislation has not been determined to have a high
probability of being held unconstitutional.

Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel