Kevin Johnson

USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department's decision Tuesday not to re-open a criminal investigation into the CIA's treatment of detainees immediately prompted a renewed debate about how those responsible for the torture of 9/11 suspects should be held accountable.

While some civil rights advocates and legal analysts said the grim disclosure of abuses — water-boarding, extreme sleep deprivation and others — outlined by the Senate Intelligence Committee's report offered new evidence of criminal acts that should be prosecuted, others suggested that new laws may be the only salve to a system that allowed the brutal interrogations.

"The true test of our nation's character comes now,'' said Elizabeth Goitein, co-director of the Liberty and National Security Program at New York University's Brennan Center for Justice. "Will we make excuses and try to defend the indefensible? Or will we finally acknowledge that our nation crossed a terrible line, and start talking about accountability?''

Goitein said the most "realistic'' path toward that accountability, given Justice's decision not to renew its criminal inquiry, is to rid the government of a structure that permitted such a program.

"At every level, we need to hold the system accountable,'' Goitein said. "This wasn't just the work of rogue officials.''

Elisa Massimino, president and chief executive of Human Rights First, said the immediate goal should be focused on "building a durable consensus against torture in the U.S.''

"The current administration has made prosecution a non-starter and could risk further polarization,'' Massimino said. "Accountability can come in many different forms. The question is how we come to grips with what we did as a country. As a country we need to own it. Truth telling is a form of accountability.''

Two years ago, the Justice Department announced its initial decision not to bring criminal charges following what Attorney General Eric Holder characterized as "extraordinarily thorough and complete'' reviews conducted by special prosecutor John Durham.

The same investigators involved in the previous four-year Justice inquiry "reviewed the committee's full report and did not find any new information that they had not previously considered in reaching their determination,'' a Justice official said Tuesday. The official was not authorized to speak publicly about criminal investigations and spoke on condition of anonymity.

While the earlier examination had generated two criminal investigations, Justice "declined those cases for prosecution because the admissible evidence would not be sufficient to obtain and sustain convictions beyond a reasonable doubt.''

"The attorney general made clear at the time of the review that the department would not prosecute anyone who acted in good faith and within the scope of the legal guidance given by the (Justice) Office of Legal Counsel regarding the interrogation of detainees,'' the official said. "Our inquiry was limited to a determination of whether prosecutable offenses were committed.''

But some who represent survivors of the torture program, including alleged al-Qaeda planner Abu Zubaydah, said the Senate panel's findings should serve as the basis for criminal prosecution.

"We have witnessed firsthand the devastating human consequences in meetings with our clients (now being held at Guantanamo Bay's detention center),'' said Baher Azmy, legal director for the Center for Constitutional Rights, whose attorneys continue to represent Zubaydah and other detainees.

"We renew our demand for accountability for those individuals responsible for the CIA torture program. They should be prosecuted in U.S. courts. And if our government continues to refuse to hold them accountable, they must be pursued internationally.''