The Unforgivable Curses

[kiricat2001]

No: HPFGUIDX 95143

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Geoff Bannister" 
> 
> Marianne:
> > > I have just one tiny quibble here. I believe what we were told 
> about 
> > > the Aurors being given permission to use the Unforgivables was 
as 
> a 
> > > way to defeat or capture the DEs to bring them to justice, not 
to 
> > > inflict punishment.
> > 
> Carol:
> > You're right. Point conceded. :-)
> 
> Geoff:
> Hang on a moment.... 
> 
> How does that square with...
> 
> "(Sirius speaking)'Crouch's principles might've been good in the 
> beginning - I wouldn't know. He rose quickly through the Minstry 
and 
> he started ordering very harsh measures against Voldemort's 
> supporters. The Aurors were given new powers - powers to kill 
rather 
> than capture for instance.'"
> 
> (OOTP "Padfoot Returns" p.457 UK edition)

Marianne responds:

That's exactly the chapter I had in mind.  My memory of it was that 
these powers were granted to provide the Aurors with additional 
weapons, thus giving them a range of permissable responses in which 
to deal with DEs.  If need be, the Aurors were permitted to kill.  
But, my sense of the granting of these powers was not that the Aurors 
were told flat out "Go kill every suspected DE you find."  Or "Crucio 
any DE you find to punish them."  Rather, it was seen as a way to 
even the playing field.  Whether or not all Aurors, other than Mad-
Eye, chose to kill any and all DEs they came across rather than seek 
to bring them in alive for trial (or immediate sentencing to Azkaban) 
is never revealed.  

I hope, for the sake of this whole discussion of morality, that 
Aurors didn't toss around Unforgivables like showers of confetti, but 
only resorted to them in extreme situations.  However, since Geoff 
has spurred me to re-read this section, the description of Crouch 
does fit in with Carol's (I think it was Carol!) point that  
Unforgivables would have a deleterious effect on those who used 
them.  Certainly the description of Crouch seems to indicate that he 
became as ruthless as those he sought to bring to justice.  

Marianne