Jonah Lehrer wonders why we ignore prisoner abuse:
Part of the answer is rooted in a human bias. It turns out that we all have an intuitive belief in justice – people get what they deserve. This instinct makes all sorts of social contracts possible, but it comes with a perverse side effect, causing us to ignore stories of suffering that directly contradict that assumption. Because we believe in justice, we ignore stories of injustice.
The Dish 