Did Gollum deserve death?

[davem]

Of course we also have Aragorn stating he was not 'gentle' in his treatment of Gollum.

Whatever Gandalf did one would have to imagine Gollum's situation - locked in a cell, alone, afraid, deprived of his only comfort (the Ring). For Gandalf to come into his cell & 'put the fear of fire on him' would be equivalent at the least of psychological torture. It strikes me that Gandalf was desperate for information at that point & could well have terroised Gollum into speaking.

This opens a wider question - how far should one go in that kind of desperate need? If the information Gandalf could obtain from Gollum could save thousands of innocent lives - or hundreds, or tens .... & if Gandalf knew (or felt) that not using 'terror' (even torture) to get the information could put the fate of Middle-earth at risk, what should he do?

This is a difficult moral question. The fate of the world could depend on getting information out of Gollum, & Gollum is withholding that information.

Personally I think Gandalf did exactly what he said he did - why lie about it, or exagerate. I think he did put the fear of fire on Gollum, & 'luckily' for Gandalf, by the sound of it, he didn't have to put his threat into practice.

Another example, to my mind, of the 'good' guys not being entirely good....