FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 12, 2013

Contact: Samantha Friedman, Rabinowitz/Dorf Communications
Office: (202) 265-3000 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Former Guantanamo Chief Prosecutor Keynotes Montgomery County talk on torture as a moral issue

Washington, D.C. – A trio of interfaith and religious organizations today hosted a panel discussion, “Torture is a Moral Issue – Our Issue,” in Derwood, Md. The panel examined what led to the use of torture as U.S. policy, why it is important that the government acknowledge this reality and accept responsibility for its actions, and what steps should be taken to ensure that this deviation from the founding principles of the United States never again becomes policy.

The three co-sponsoring organizations of the event were the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT), Pax Christi of St. Francis of Assisi Roman Catholic Church, and Interfaith Action for Human Rights, which is the mid-Atlantic affiliate of NRCAT.

The panel featured Col. Morris Davis (ret.), who served as Chief Prosecutor at the detention center at Guantanamo Bay and is today pushing for the Obama administration to close the facility, and Dr. Stephen Colecchi, Director, Office of International Justice and Peace at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Colecchi is an outspoken opponent of the use of torture and other coercive interrogation techniques. Rev. Richard Killmer, executive director of NRCAT, moderated the panel.

A short film produced by NRCAT, “Ending U.S.-Sponsored Torture Forever,” was screened at the event.

“There has been too much debate about the efficacy of torture,” Killmer noted. “Torture is immoral, and whether it is justified should not be up for debate. As we learned through a recent report from the Constitution Project – an in-depth investigation into U.S. post-9/11 interrogation practices – torture fails to produce actionable intelligence and has been detrimental to U.S. security. I am eager for the Senate Intelligence Committee to release its own 6,000-page report on CIA torture to the public, so all Americans have access to the truth about the harmful impact of torture on the world.”

Representatives from each co-sponsoring organization, as well as the speakers, are available for interview. To arrange interviews, please contact Samantha Friedman at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or (202) 265-3000.

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