I think torture falls into the "would you be willing to be executed for it" category.

My guess is that ordinary torture doesn't work very well at uncovering reliable information. I think that hooked a person to a polygraph and an MRI machine, asking questions and studying the results would probably work a lot better.

But, if someone thinks torture really is worth it -- i.e., the torturing will produce information that could keep a nuclear bomb from exploding in Times Square -- then s/he should be willing to turn him/herself over for criminal prosecution once the torturing is completed and the emergency has passed.

If I used to torture to obtain information that saved a city from being nuked, I wouldn't be thrilled about being executed or imprisoned for life because of what I'd done, but I'd agree with the logic of the judges who sentenced me.