Did Gollum deserve death?

Originally Posted by davem

Personally I think Gandalf did exactly what he said he did - why lie about it, or exagerate. I think he did put the fear of fire on Gollum, & 'luckily' for Gandalf, by the sound of it, he didn't have to put his threat into practice

It seemed to me that Gandalf lit a brand of fire close to Gollum to get him to talk, but the need to burn him did not arise thankfully. If it meant saving ME, torturing a murderer would appear more acceptable given the circumstances, if somewhat immoral.