Torture is always wrong. There is no excuse for any person, organization or government to torture -- anytime, anywhere.

Monday night at the University of San Diego, UC Berkeley law professor John Yoo might try to convince you otherwise. While serving in the Office of Legal Counsel at the U.S. Department of Justice, Yoo co-authored the documents now known as "the torture memos."

Those memos defined government-sponsored torture to include only abuse that would rise "to the level of death, organ failure, or the permanent impairment of a significant body function." These memos paved the way for the widespread use of torture by U.S. forces, as dramatically revealed at Abu Ghraib.

For 10 years, Survivors of Torture, International has served survivors of politically motivated torture living in San Diego County. An estimated 11,000 survivors live in our county, and approximately 500,000 nationwide. Most came as refugees or asylum-seekers, fleeing brutal dictators, genocides and persecution for their political activity, ethnicity or religion.

The individuals we serve have undergone horrific torture, both physical and psychological, but much that would not be classified as torture under Yoo's definition. The consequences are not organ failure or death, but rather a lifetime of terrifying nightmares, disabling depression and chronic pain.

Much expert opinion argues that torture is not only extremely debilitating, but also an ineffective means of extracting information. People will say anything to make the torture stop.

Torture continues to be widespread in at least 70 countries. It is terrifying to see our own government endorsing practices that are clearly considered torture under accepted international definitions. This policy undermines our credibility in promoting human rights and raises the risk of torture to our own military forces in the event of capture.

There is another side to this picture.

In 1998, Congress authorized the Torture Victims Relief Act, which states that "the American people abhor torture by any government or person. The existence of torture creates a climate of fear and international insecurity that affects all people."

In its best traditions, the United States stands as a beacon of hope and democracy. Torture survivors make their way to San Diego County, to communities like Encinitas, Solana Beach and San Marcos, because they are safe places. As American residents, they can live their lives free from the police forces, militias and others who inflicted the torture on them.

It's time for the United States to rededicate to its role as a safe haven for survivors, not as a perpetrator of human rights abuses. Torture at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo does not help. Redefining torture does not help.

John Yoo will speak at the University of San Diego's Institute for Peace and Justice at 5:30 p.m. Monday. Please join Survivors of Torture, International, and other concerned organizations in a candlelight vigil at 5 p.m. outside the hall, where we will recognize the worth and human dignity of torture survivors living around the world.

Kathi Anderson is the executive director for Survivors of Torture, International, a San Diego-based nonprofit that advocates for an end to torture and works with torture survivors.