http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1712&dept_id=24361&newsid=14318672&PAG=461&rfi=9CONCORD, N.H. -- Faith may move mountains, but John Hutson would settle for it merely moving the hearts of men.
The 58-year-old retired rear admiral is the Navy's former top lawyer and the dean of Franklin Pierce Law Center in Concord. Since 2003, he has been fighting the Bush administration in court, in Congress and in the court of public opinion, arguing the White House set the stage for torturing prisoners and other abuses in the war against terrorism.
"We will be generations trying to get back our self-respect, most importantly, but also the respect of our allies and our enemies," Hutson said in a recent interview. "As a result of what's happened over the past couple of years, we've taken a big step down the slippery slope from the high road to the low road."
He opposed Alberto Gonzales' confirmation as U.S. attorney general, calling him a chief architect of flawed policies. Hutson also is co-counsel on a lawsuit filed against Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld alleging U.S. forces tortured eight men in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Gonzales and other administration officials have denied condoning torture and have denied sending prisoners to other nations that allow it. Hutson has remained firm, saying interrogation practices at Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere have crossed into torture.
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