Something everybody seems to agree on is that he was not involved in any planning or execution, but only in publicity and recruiting. And his son and daughter, of course, neither.

Something else authorities agree on is that making them into martyrs has caused much more harm than any of them ever did alive, so even had the logic justifying wasting them had been sound, on its own terms, it was still very, very stupid.

Often principles are there to protect you from your own stupidity.