A group of human rights lawyers has researched the deaths of 98 detainees in the American war on terrorism and concluded that eight of them were tortured to death and one-third of them were likely homicides.

Yet, in the four years since the first known death in U.S. custody, only 12 detainee deaths have resulted in punishment of any kind. The severest penalty imposed in a torture-related death was five months in jail. No civilian official or military officer above the rank of major responsible for interrogation and detention has been charged. Not one CIA agent has faced a criminal charge.

Human Rights First, formerly the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, reported massive evidence of what it called an “accountability gap.” It called for immediate action by President Bush to implement the ban on cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, which he signed into law on Dec. 30, 2005. It urged Congress to establish an independent bipartisan commission to review U.S. detention and interrogation operations worldwide.

The report detailed the worst cases and their inadequate or nonexistent prosecutions. Among those cases was the death of Manadel al-Jamadi, who was pictured in the Abu Ghraib prisoner-abuse scandal with prison guards giving a thumbs-up over his body. Another was that of Abed Hamed Mowboush, a former Iraqi general, who was beaten repeatedly by American guards and interrogators, stuffed headfirst into a sleeping bag, wrapped with electrical cord, and suffocated to death. A low-level U.S. military officer, charged in the latter death, got off with a reprimand, a fine and a limited 60-day house arrest.

On the day the report was released, Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt brushed off a reporter’s request for comment by saying, “Well, my comment is that’s propaganda. It’s not correct.”

Later, administration spokesmen said that they took allegations of maltreatment very seriously. Human Rights First has received limited information from the Pentagon and hopes for a “more substantive dialogue.”

Certainly, the report on the nature of the detainee deaths isn’t the final word, but if the administration really is going to take this seriously, it should direct the Defense Department to order prompt and thorough investigations and, where appropriate, prosecutions, and not limited to low-level personnel. The chain of command bears responsibility for abuses.

The president should be expected to oversee adequate prosecution. So far, Mr. Bush has said, in effect, that he will obey the congressional mandate only if he pleases.

Presidential action should be expected on an issue that involves what American troops can encounter if captured, what the rest of the world thinks of our country, and how we ourselves regard this sorry record of unpunished cruelty.

Increased congressional oversight may be the best hope for a satisfactory resolution of the continuing prisoner-abuse scandal. But so far, Congress has been willing only to make a little noise now and then before deferring to the White House.