Snape, A Murderer? (Was: Re: Is Wormtail an Occlumens or an open book?)

[potioncat]

No: HPFGUIDX 95318

Sigune wrote:
> I don't think I can justify this with canon, but somehow I don't 
> think Snape is a wizard of the Mugglebaiting/Mugglemurdering type. 
On 
> the other hand, I *can* see him use an Unforgivable on a fellow 
> wizard, just to test his strength against his adversary's. I do 
> recall, though, that the one time we have seen him threaten to use 
> the Killing Curse, against Sirius in the Shrieking Shack, despite 
his 
> obvious hatred he needed a reason to cast it ("Give me a reason and 
> I'll do it" - quoting from memory). Hm. That may be Dumbledore's 
> influence, of course. And I wonder if he had done it could he claim 
> it was self-defence against the mass-murderer Black?
> 
>
>> NB: It has occurred to me that IF Snape's function among the DE's 
was 
> to make potions and/or poisons, they would no doubt be put to evil 
> uses, which means that even if Snape did not administer them 
himself, 
> he at least shares a responsibility in the harm that is done. 

Potioncat:
I snipped quite a bit here. To keep it to one or two points.

Sigune brought up the point that Snape threatened Sirius, but needed 
a reason to use it.  Therefore, he would "shoot to kill" if he  had 
to.  (Was that what he meant? Or did he mean he would incapacitate 
him?) Along the same line, Sirius was going to kill Peter.  How did 
he know AK or is there another curse that kills but isn't 
unforgivable?

One of my problems with Snape's guilt is broutht up here. If he 
prepared a poison, is he responsible for how it was used?  Does he 
know when he makes the poison, how it will be used?  Is there another 
use for it? And also if he belongs to an organization that tortures 
and kills, but he never actually performs the curses, isn't he guilty 
too? Are we talking about an army or a crime ring?  Because 
certainly, when armies lose, it is the ones who ordered and carried 
out war crimes that are punished.  But those who were not part of 
those episodes are not held as criminals.

I don't know the time line for the DE's.  Is it written somewhere?  
For example, was LV was already torturing and killing when Snape 
joined or did that come later?  Did Snape leave when he found out 
about it.  

At any rate, although I haven't worked out the morality of all this, 
I no longer think Snape used AK.  I'm not so sure about crucio. And 
of course canon doesn't tell us. 

Remember when Hermione's teeth grow so long and Snape says, "I see no 
difference."  I think that was muggle baiting.  Perhaps it was for 
show in front of the Junior DE's, but cruel no less.

Potioncat who is still pondering all this.