Making decisions on whether torture is moral based on extreme outliers is the same as arguing about the morals of abortion based on third-trimester abortions, w

Making decisions on whether torture is moral based on extreme outliers is the same as arguing about the morals of abortion based on third-trimester abortions, which in the US comprise 0.4% of abortions. It's not the main event. Yes, it is useful to discuss these items, as long as it is clearly understood that these are outliers. It's also significant to note that even though police thought it was a 'ticking bomb' situation, it actually wasn't. "But the police honestly believed X" is a real example of the 'slippery slope', that we see violated time and time again. There have been sting operations to expose the misuse of "honestly believed X" - my favourite being the guys (in Texas, from memory) who put high power heat lamps in an empty house, pointed at a christmas tree. Police helicopters illegally using FLIR noted the heat, and had an officer walk past and "smell cannabis" coming from the house, which lead to a SWAT raid. All caught on cameras positioned inside the empty house.