Dahlia Lithwick, "Forgive Not"

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Dahlia, Lithwick, "Forgive Not"

Notes:

GC: There should be an investigation and prosecution of senior official who authorized torture.

Rationale #1:

IC: It is wrong to avoid an investigation.

P1: It excuses us from accountability and uses the wrong language (of recovery) to discuss the issue.

Rationale #2:

IC: We should investigate.

P1: If we can hold a legitimate investigation, we should.

P2: There is ample documentary evidence to hold an investigation.

Rationale #3:

P1: The torture policies showed a contempt for the rule of law.

P2: Not investigating shows a similar contempt for the rule of law.

P3: We should not show a contempt for the rule of law.

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Write up in paragraph form:

In "Forgive Not," Dahlia Lithwick argues that there should be an investigation and prosecution of senior officials who authorized torture. She gives three rationales for her view. First, she argues that it is wrong to avoid criminal investigations because it excuses us from accountability. She finds evidence for this in the rhetoric of the discussion, which sounds more like the language of recovery and addiction rather than the language of law. Second, she argues that if we can hold a legitimate investigation, we should do it. She claims that there is ample documentary evidence to investigate, therefore we should. Finally, she argues that not investigating shows the same contempt for the rule of law that the torture policies showed. We should not show contempt for the rule of law. Therefore, we should investigate.