While the Bush administration pays lip service to the torture of Iraqis at Abu Ghraib prison, it seems full blame can be summed up by the adage, "You get what you pay for." Among Ashcroft's handpicked advisors on the resuscitation of Abu Ghraib was Lane McCotter. McCotter's Department of Justice (DOJ) bio mentions his "extensive background in corrections." It doesn't mention that his "background" has been full of abuse.

Following the death of a schizophrenic inmate who'd been shackled naked to a chair for 16 hours in 1997, McCotter was run out of the Utah Department of Corrections. He took an executive position with a private prison management firm, which was criticized by the DOJ for unsafe conditions while McCotter was whisked off to Iraq.

Perhaps the best indicator of what to expect comes from a letter written by an inmate who served time under McCotter. It describes how guards would tackle a prisoner, "then handcuff, shackle, put a hood over his head, hook a leash to him and finally drag him off."

» Scott Saxon