Abstract Empirical evidence on contemporary torture is sparse. The archives of the Spanish Inquisition provide a detailed historical source of quantitative and qualitative information about interrogational torture. The inquisition tortured brutally and systematically, willing to torment all who it deemed as withholding evidence. This torture yielded information that was often reliable: witnesses in the torture chamber and witnesses that were not tortured provided corresponding information about collaborators, locations, events, and practices. Nonetheless, inquisitors treated the results of interrogations in the torture chamber with skepticism. This bureaucratized torture stands in stark contrast to the “ticking bomb” philosophy that has motivated US torture policy in the aftermath of 9/11. Evidence from the archives of the Spanish Inquisition suggests torture affords no middle ground: one cannot improvise quick, amateurish, and half-hearted torture sessions, motivated by anger and fear, and hope to extract reliable intelligence.

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酷刑的代价：来自西班牙宗教裁判所的证据

摘要 关于当代酷刑的经验证据很少。西班牙宗教裁判所的档案提供了有关审讯酷刑的定量和定性信息的详细历史来源。宗教裁判所残酷而有系统地折磨，愿意折磨所有它认为隐瞒证据的人。这种酷刑产生的信息通常是可靠的：酷刑室中的证人和未遭受酷刑的证人提供了有关合作者、地点、事件和做法的相应信息。尽管如此，审判官对酷刑室的审讯结果持怀疑态度。这种官僚化的酷刑与在 9/11 之后推动美国酷刑政策的“定时炸弹”哲学形成鲜明对比。