[alatar]

Taking up Bêthberry's point, I think, but are we asking if Gollum deserves punishment? Death in Arda is a Gift, and to this lost soul, though second to having a night out on the town with the One Ring, Death would truly be a gift - no more insatiable desire for the Ring.

So, when Gandalf says that Gollum deserves to die, is he saying that, yes, it surely would be convenient if the wretch weren't running around the place, mudding up the plans of both the Wise and the small? I think that Gandalf, being farsighted, knew that this creature sits between or outside Good or Evil. As I've stated before, Gollum is a rogue - Chaos. Not saintly like Frodo, nor completely evil such as Sauron, but something else. He is the fulcrum, in the end, on which both sides' fates balance.

In the end, Gollum gets death. As stated, he and his Precious share one last dance and the two lovers die together. Was this Eru's reward to this tortured soul? Note that he's not blown away like Sauron or Saruman, some mist or shadow that will gnaw itself in the Void. Gollum just dies.

And though the Ring be a strong addiction, I cannot absolve Gollum of his deeds after he takes the Ring just because the Ring and the Darkness chewed away at his brain. Surely he is miserable and pitiable, yet still he chose to take the Ring, and for that he is guilty.