The Most Deserving of Mercy?

[Roswell]

Which one of the following is most deserving of mercy from their executioner(s)?  Please justify your choice.  And please, only pick one.  Pick only from this list.  This is meant to be a hard choice.  Thanks

(1)  The soldiers that Stannis burned to death for the crime of eating the dead during a period of starvation.

(2)  Merret Frey was hanged by the Brotherhood Without Banners after promising him safety and stealing the ransom money.

(3) Gared was traumatized by what he saw and was probably suffering from PTSD when Eddard executed him.

(4) Janos Slynt was executed by Jon Snow for initial insubordination and disrespectful behavior.

(5) Lady was executed by Eddard to appease the Baratheons.

(6) Mirri Maz Duur was executed by the Khaleesi for the murder of Rhaego and the treason against Khal Drogo.

(7) Daeron was killed by Arya Stark in Braavos.  The reasons behind the execution are not very clear but he was probably in the act of deserting the N-W.

(8) An elderly insurance underwriter-salesman-agent was executed by Arya in Braavos.  The man was allegedly guilty of refusing to pay out claims to the insured.

[Kienn]

Are you talking about mercy in the Westeros sense or the modern sense?

 

Westeros - Gared.

Modern - Stannis' cannibals.

[BRANDON GREYSTARK]

Lady . She was a good wolf , with a bounty on her of 100 gold dragons .

[Arbor Golden]

I'm excluding lady

The soldiers are the most deserving of mercy. In their case mercy could be hanging or beheading as opposed to being burned alive.

[Foot_Of_The_King]

Cannibal soilders. It surely wasn't an easy decision. And like @Arbor Gold said, a cleaner death would have been more merciful than burning them. 

[The Lord of the Crossing]

I'm very tempted to support my kinsman and write Merret Frey in reply to the Op.  But as much as I am a Stark-enemy  and a Daenerys Fanboy, I have to admit that it is  #5.  The direwolf.  Lady was an innocent victim of politics.  She is just another victim of the Baratheon regime and the Lannister cruelty.  This particular wolf was innocent.  Now about Nymeria, I am down for skinning that nasty direwolf and using her pelt to warm the feet of the Lord of the Crossing on cold nights.  I hate Nymeria but I don't have anything against Lady.

 

[zandru]

I've excluded 5/ Lady from consideration because she's a wolf and it's inappropriate to have this kind of mixed species list. There are always plenty of us who will side with the animal, regardless of circumstances (how could you possibly claim guilt? the innocent beast!) Also, by "mercy", I assume you mean "should they have been spared" and not "should they have gotten a quick dagger to the heart".

I'm for 3/ Gareth. It's unclear whether Lord Eddard did any kind of "debriefing" before executing Gareth. If he had, it might have saved a lot of trouble and definitely given critical information to the Night's Watch on a more timely basis, however. And Gareth might have chosen to go back to the Wall, given the chance and choice.

The 1/soldiers would have been next. It wasn't as if they KILLED the folks they were eating. Legendarily, Stannis would have deplored such a waste of good meat (that story from the siege of Storm's End) under other circumstances. Execution of the soldiers appears hypocritical, and burning them alive deplorable. It's not like "The Cremation of Sam Magee" where at least they finally got warm.

The rest on the list, let 'em go. 2/ Merret Frey is mainly of interest as being the father of Fat Walda. And he was complicit, even if incompetent.

[Nowy Tends]

1 hour ago, zandru said:

I'm for 3/ Gareth. It's unclear whether Lord Eddard did any kind of "debriefing" before executing Gareth. If he had, it might have saved a lot of trouble and definitely given critical information to the Night's Watch on a more timely basis, however. And Gareth might have chosen to go back to the Wall, given the chance and choice.

The 1/soldiers would have been next. It wasn't as if they KILLED the folks they were eating.

My thoughts, exactly.

[TMIFairy]

6 - the Dothraki deserve everything they get. Rabid scum. Slavers and rapists.

As to the soldiers - eating the dead without an order leads to breakdown of discipline. Thin end of the edge, a slippery slope and all that - come tomorrow they would be murdering one another for meat.

[StarkofWinterfell]

Stannis.

[Texas Hold Em]

#8 - The insurance agent.  Just because a claim went unpaid doesn't mean there was fraud involved.  All of you adults out there should read your insurance policies carefully.  There are rules involved.  For example, the claims that went unpaid.  Do we know that the insured party suffered the loss at no fault of their own or was negligence on their part involved.  Just because an unhappy customer had it out for the old man doesn't mean he was guilty of fraud.  The customer had enough money to purchase the insurance man's death and that was all there was.  Enough money bought the unhappy customer the judgment that he/she wanted.  The insurance man would have gone out of business very quickly if he was conducting business fraudulently.  The man was innocent.

[Makk]

In order

(5) Lady was executed by Eddard to appease the Baratheons. Lady did absolutely nothing wrong. She was punished for the "crime" of another and lets face it, even if it was Nymeria I would have given her a bone rather than an execution for biting Joffery.

(2)  Merret Frey was hanged by the Brotherhood Without Banners after promising him safety and stealing the ransom money. He knew about the red wedding before it happened but only had a very minor part in it, he certainly wouldn't have done it on his own accord. Although he by no means is a good person, executing negotiators under safe promise is unacceptable.

(1)  The soldiers that Stannis burned to death for the crime of eating the dead during a period of starvation. They knew they were not supposed to eat their dead, but being executed seems a harsh penalty for the what is at least an understandable and non-damaging crime.

(8) An elderly insurance underwriter-salesman-agent was executed by Arya in Braavos.  The man was allegedly guilty of refusing to pay out claims to the insured. We don't really know enough to make a moral judgment on him. We can make a deduction that he was probably fraudulent but we don't know for sure without examining each of the cases. He was rich and he was fearful that so many people hated him that he needed excessive protection. Someone went as far as hiring a faceless man which we know carries a high cost. This implies he was reneging on claims, but if Arya was making a truly moral decision she would have investigated more.

----Below here I think death is a relatively fitting punishment

(3) Gared was traumatized by what he saw and was probably suffering from PTSD when Eddard executed him. He may have been traumatised but it was still extremely important for him to return to the nightswatch to inform them what he saw. This compromises the entire realm.

(7) Daeron was killed by Arya Stark in Braavos.  The reasons behind the execution are not very clear but he was probably in the act of deserting the N-W. Daeron not just deserted but he effectively stole money leaving his companions stuck in Bravos without even telling them. I would have been a lot more sympathetic if he actually helped them find a ship and then deserted.

(4) Janos Slynt was executed by Jon Snow for initial insubordination and disrespectful behavior. Janos Slynt was an extremely corrupt official who was given a second chance at the wall...and then tried to start a rebellion. Despicable man.

(6) Mirri Maz Duur was executed by the Khaleesi for the murder of Rhaego and the treason against Khal Drogo. She does have an understandable motivation, the Dothraki have raped and pillaged her people. But she didn't really harm the Dothraki, she betrayed Daenerys the person who actually helped her.

[BRANDON GREYSTARK]

19 hours ago, The Transporter said:

Which one of the following is most deserving of mercy from their executioner(s)?  Please justify your choice.  And please, only pick one.  Pick only from this list.  This is meant to be a hard choice.  Thanks

(1)  The soldiers that Stannis burned to death for the crime of eating the dead during a period of starvation.

(2)  Merret Frey was hanged by the Brotherhood Without Banners after promising him safety and stealing the ransom money.

(3) Gared was traumatized by what he saw and was probably suffering from PTSD when Eddard executed him.

(4) Janos Slynt was executed by Jon Snow for initial insubordination and disrespectful behavior.

(5) Lady was executed by Eddard to appease the Baratheons.

(6) Mirri Maz Duur was executed by the Khaleesi for the murder of Rhaego and the treason against Khal Drogo.

(7) Daeron was killed by Arya Stark in Braavos.  The reasons behind the execution are not very clear but he was probably in the act of deserting the N-W.

(8) An elderly insurance underwriter-salesman-agent was executed by Arya in Braavos.  The man was allegedly guilty of refusing to pay out claims to the insured.

That depends on the meaning of mercy . Mercy as a pardon or mercy as a quick and painless death . 

[Dorian Martell's son]

On 7/8/2017 at 7:26 PM, The Transporter said:

(5) Lady was executed by Eddard to appease the Baratheons.

There is no explanation needed 

[ftheking]

(1) The soldiers, if I have to choose. They were STARVING FOR STANNIS. They deserved food and an apology. Stannis is a despicable villain.

Second place goes to Dareon, who was not executed but murdered. Arya is the criminal here (I love her at all other times, but that was cold blooded murder) It's not even a question of deserving "mercy".

Obviously Lady did nothing wrong, she doesn't really fit the list anyway.

Garred desrved to be sent back to the wall to tell his very interesting story. He truly deserved mercy.

Mirri Maz Duur was in the right, but I get why Dany was personally pissed. It was an understandable revenge, though my sympathies lie more with Mirri.

Janos Flynt and the insurance guy deserved their fate and so did the Frey if he was part of the red wedding (I assume he was?)

[The Hoare]

Mirri Maz Duur deserve mercy there. Khal Drogo was the scum of Essos, the world is better without him.

The soldiers that Stannis killed should have had a cleaner death though. Beheading perharps, burning is way too cruel.

[Praetor Xyn]

Lady. She did absolutely nothing wrong.

[zandru]

17 hours ago, Texas Hold Em said:

The insurance man would have gone out of business very quickly if he was conducting business fraudulently.  The man was innocent.

Oh, really? Given that the folks who bought the policies he'd need to pay out were dead? And depending upon the claim money going to widows and orphans? Who tend to have little power or legal leverage? There clearly isn't much of a legal system in Braavos that's capable of handling fraud, and it's unclear whether fraud is even judged a crime. And speaking of the Faceless Men's "high price", it's typically "nearly all you have" and not some standard amount of gold. So desperate impoverished people could conceivably hire them.

Business "policing itself" has never worked. There's always a financial reward for unscrupulous behavior; that's why outside enforcement is necessary. If not the state, then a private assassination group.

1 hour ago, ftheking said:

The soldiers,

I'm for sparing the soldiers, too. What they did, although appalling on some levels, would have kept them in the field, still able to fight. Continuing to starve would have made them liabilities, not fighters, and they'd have died fairly soon. They were trying to remain part of Stannis's army by nourishing themselves. They could have, instead, deserted.

[The Commentator]

The soldiers who ate the dead.  Many more will resort to cannibalism when winter comes and food is hard to come by.  Stannis put those soldiers in that condition.  He could not provide for their needs and his march to Winterfell benefits no one.

[Here's Looking At You, Kid]

On 7/8/2017 at 10:26 PM, The Transporter said:

(8) An elderly insurance underwriter-salesman-agent was executed by Arya in Braavos.  The man was allegedly guilty of refusing to pay out claims to the insured.

Well, first, if there was a refusal to pay out a claim it's at the most a fraud.  Second, the man was no threat to Arya.  Had done nothing harmful to Arya.