Give Black a break! (was: Responsiblity for Black's death)

[eligro2000]

No: HPFGUIDX 80080

AF wrote:
<snip>"Sirius died because of how he lived; he was arrogant, 
impetuous, swaggering and bullyingly childish." <snip>

While I agree that Sirius made some errors that may have led to his 
untimely demise ... He was in a terrible prison for 11 years, during 
which he did his utmost to avoid Dementor-imposed insanity. 11 years 
in solitary Azkaban confinement, much of which was spent living as a 
dog (followed by several years in hiding). Is it really any surprise 
that the guy lacks some social skills? ... 

Having said that, let me digress: Didn't he say that most others in 
Azkaban lost their minds because they couldn't animagus themselves 
into less human forms? Why, then, do all the escaped DE's seem to be 
sane (relatively speaking)? Maybe people will argue that the DE's are 
insane when they hit the MoM. But I disagree: Insanity, at least in 
the legal sense, implies a lack of awareness and understanding. 
Evildoers like Bellatrix seem to be fully in control of their 
faculties (may Neville live long and get the bwitch!!).

E