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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


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