A Simple, Stupid Solution to the "Torture Question"

Should government officials be allowed to torture people in order to obtain crucial information? A common hypothetical example is a terrorist allegedly knowing the location of a nuclear bomb in a major metropolitan area. If he indeed has the information, and many lives could be saved, waterboarding appears to be justified. But we won't know if he had the information until after he is waterboarded.

So here is a really obvious but probably wrong solution: if it turns out the torturee has no information, make the torturer and all his superiors liable for any crimes they commit. What would be the standard criminal penalty if I, as a private citizen, tied someone up and cut off their ear? Give the maximum punishment (with no trial) to the torturer. Make them sign a form beforehand. If it's a private in the Army, and it turns out the "terrorist" has no information about the alleged bomb, then everyone from his superior up to the Secretary of Defense and the President is punished. If the suspect did have the location of the bomb, no punishment is necessary.

I'm sure that will never work. And its chances of being implemented are even worse.