A little of both, probably. “If we pulled him now, we’d have to admit we made a mistake, and also then we’d have to find a new executioner. What does it matter? They’re going to be dead either way.”
And the Nuremberg trials were shockingly rife with benefit of the doubt. Some real bastards slipped out by pointing fingers, or were in prison for long enough that the government commuted their sentences.
I mean, eventually, he can improve by repetition if nothing else. I mean, wasn’t he objectively one of the most experienced executioners in modern history?
A little of both, probably. “If we pulled him now, we’d have to admit we made a mistake, and also then we’d have to find a new executioner. What does it matter? They’re going to be dead either way.”
And the Nuremberg trials were shockingly rife with benefit of the doubt. Some real bastards slipped out by pointing fingers, or were in prison for long enough that the government commuted their sentences.
Nobody who died at Nuremberg was a maybe.
I mean, eventually, he can improve by repetition if nothing else. I mean, wasn’t he objectively one of the most experienced executioners in modern history?
For hangings maybe, but the Germans themselves might like a word about their record of executions during WWII.