some very beautiful forms of torture indeed, and yes the idea of torture is to create physical or mental anguish for a extended period of time while prolonging the period between pain and death. becasue after all, by letting them die, you are basically giving them their freedom. are you not?
my favourite form of torture would be for the right people who would deserve it the most...
have a large glass container inside a room with no windows and only a couple of lights. fill up the large glass container (about the size of a small room) full of a saline solution. then place the lucky victim inside the container hooked up to a set of shackles and a oxygen tube. place one iv drip into a arm that would administer the life nutritients needed to sustain life to the lucky victim. then proceed to lift up a sign saying (you are stuck here for the rest of your life) making sure they can read it before walking out of the room remembering to turn off the light. come back in 10 years and i am sure their mental anguish would be starting to spiral out of control.............give it another 20 years................