So, my friend is running an evil campaign for us set in Galt where the party consists of convicts who will now be put to death for their various crimes, but manage to break free and are eventually hired as mercenaries by a few powers in Galt who want the chaotic mob rule to remain dominant. This is especially pertinent because the church of Abadar is vying for power in Galt in order to stabilize the nation.
I have a character concept (approval pending, but I have no doubts he'll love it) for a sort of inside man; a corrupt constable who is complicit with their escape and legal protection while in Galt. For his build, I want to do the Constable Cavalier archetype with the Order of the Penitent in order to make a character that excels at capturing and subduing enemies, something that will be important for questioning and torturing key NPCs we may encounter rather than killing them outright. I'm having trouble applying the order to an evil ideal, though.
Not all knights begin their careers as nobles' children or as squires. Some start out as thieves, murderers, or cheats, and only after they see the suffering caused by their crimes do they dedicate themselves to honorable service. Cavaliers who follow this order seek to make up for the crimes they've committed in the past, and do whatever they can to restore their tainted honor.
Edicts: The cavalier must be merciful to wrongdoers and show unfettered fairness whenever he passes judgment. He must assume that only the most heinous monsters are irrevocably evil, and must deliver all foes capable of fair trial to the appropriate local law enforcers.
I could easily just ask him to waive or refluff the order, but I wanted to ask around and see what other people's thoughts were on executing this a litte more elegantly.
Many good things taken too far can become evil. If you believe that no one is worthy to judge another, however evil, it would be natural to let a murderer go even if they are likely (or certain) to kill again.
Actively working to prevent justice from occurring (prison breakouts, helping criminals, etc.) would be a pretty chaotic evil character, even if they are ostensibly (and perhaps themselves even believe) all about mercy.
Add in a bit of only being merciful in regards to long term things (death, long imprisonment, perhaps permanent maiming) but believe that for the greater good inflicting pain is permissible and you have your torture.
Mercy is for the strong. Pain will give you strength.
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You'll get maximum leeway for your constable by him believing that pretty much everyone you want to capture is heinous and that you are the lawful authority and due process is summary justice after torture.
This is not too far fetched. Medieval knights could deal out low justice to outlaws (people who failed to turn up to courts) by hanging them. This paralleled the latter handling of pirates.
Also torture was used in English law when someone was known to be guilty and the information they held was time critical. This happened to Guido Fawkes, whose mask was worn by "V" in "V for Vendetta" and now the Anonymous movement.
It was also used in Witchcraft trials, which were all very lawful even though they generally were designed to get someone to confess to cookie-cutter, standard confessions on pain of death so they could be killed for witchcraft.
So historically things were brutal. Your constable just needs the right mandate and some severe intolerance ...