Folter und Gewaltanwendung im deutschen Strafprozess. Das Ende von Tortur und Ungehorsamsstrafen sowie die Rückkehr der „Rettungsfolter“
Torture and Use of Force in German Criminal Procedure. The End of Torture and Enforced Testimonies as well as the Recurrence of Torture in Emergencies

Summary/Abstract: Any textbook on legal history includes a reference to the abolition of torture in Prussia under the rule of Frederick II (1740/1754). However, authors rarely depict that other types of violent enforcement of testimony remained part of Prussian and German law of criminal procedure until 1848. Even after torture to extract confessions had been abolished, massive use of force against suspects was still permissible to make them state co-perpetrators or to sanction their silence or lies. The article addresses the legal principles justifying the use of force in German criminal procedure beyond the abolition of torture. Finally, the author illustrates that, most notably since the 9/11 attacks, some well-known authors – without being aware of their historic role models - speak out in favor of forms of violent enforcement of testimony.

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