Did Gollum deserve death?

[Raynor]

Originally Posted by Legate of Amon Lanc

There is no "did Gollum deserve death" objectively - we are not gods, we are mere humans.

While Tolkien does not assume the moral and ultimate authority of God, and what He actually does to sinners, a matter in which humans or Men have arguably no insight, he has no problem in recognising the moral fault of Gollum.

Originally Posted by davem

I accept that there was a 'remnant' of Smeagol in there somewhere.

Originally Posted by Shadow of the past, FotR

- The murder of Deal haunted Gollum, and he had made up a defence, repeating it to his "precious" over and over again, as he gnawed bones in the dark, until he almost believed it. It _was_ his birthday. Deal ought to have given the ring to him. It had previously turned up just so as to be a present. It _was_ his birthday present, and so on, and on.

- I endured him as long as I could, but the truth was desperately important, and in the end I had to be harsh.

It is Gollum who is haunted, persistently, by his evil deeds, even after five centuries. Your downplaying is unwarranted.

Oh Tolkien was always changing his mind on stuff & too much in the letters is (in Hutton's words ) 'reflective glosses', written after the event.

You will find that Tolkien was writting about Gollum coming within a hair of repentance, if it wasn't for Sam, as early as 1945. You can't brush this aside as you see fit. In the book itself, it is said "the fleeting moment had passed, beyond recall".