Yeh, it's probably torture. When the cops twist someone's arms behind their back, that's torture too, if milder and shorter in duration. When they shoot someone with a taser, and repeatedly shock them with high voltage, torture too.
What are authorities to do when they demand compliance, and the criminal says "oh, no thank you, I kindly refuse to submit to your authority"? When the convict says "no, I don't think I will accept this punishment"?
So sure. Threat of torture. I'm feeling ok about it. Glad we cleared that up.
PS You make a good case for suspending executions. Imagine 40 or 50 years of solitary. Could even use robots to deliver meals, so that they can't even pretend that there's another human being on the other side of the vault door once a day or so. Really, what do you think prisons are?
Putting someone alone in a box for 23h/day because they refuse to work for $.30/hr is unconscionable. The comparisons to legitimate uses of force are non sequitors—no one is claiming torture when cops twist someone's arm behind their back.
What are authorities to do when they demand compliance, and the criminal says "oh, no thank you, I kindly refuse to submit to your authority"? When the convict says "no, I don't think I will accept this punishment"?
So sure. Threat of torture. I'm feeling ok about it. Glad we cleared that up.
PS You make a good case for suspending executions. Imagine 40 or 50 years of solitary. Could even use robots to deliver meals, so that they can't even pretend that there's another human being on the other side of the vault door once a day or so. Really, what do you think prisons are?