Punishment is a recurring topic in The Walking Dead. It is the infliction or imposition of a penalty as retribution for an offense, commonly in the form of imprisonment, torture, or death. It is sometimes conflated with revenge, although it is usually more formal and less driven by emotion.
Though Negan's original life sentence is suspended after his actions in The Whisperer War, he is still exiled as punishment for his past crimes. (Issue 169)
Mercer is imprisoned for plotting against Governor Milton. (Issue 187)
Pamela Milton is imprisoned after being ousted from power, though this is partially for her own safety. She is released later that day by Rick. (Issue 191)
Carl Grimes is tasked with replacing Hershel Greene's walker that he killed earlier, although he was originally going to receive a fine for destroying Hershel's property. Instead of complying, Carl later kills all of Hershel's other walkers, too, and is promptly arrested after returning from his messenger run. He is ultimately exonerated by Michonne, however. (Issue 193)
Lilly kills Carley/Doug, or attempts to kill Ben trying to punish whoever had been stealing supplies, even though Ben was the real thief. (Long Road Ahead)
Lilly can be abandoned for her murder of Doug/Carley. (Long Road Ahead)
Jerry is sentenced to prison for an unknown crime. (Prison Bus)
Carlos is ordered to smack his daughter by Carver in order to discipline her after she talked over Carver's speech. (In Harm's Way)
Carver beats Kenny up for his perceived role in the group's escape attempt. (In Harm's Way)
Carver shoves Reggie off of the top of a building as punishment for poorly overseeing Clementine and Sarah's chores. (In Harm's Way)
Kenny beats Carver to death as punishment for what he did to his eye and for murdering Walter. (In Harm's Way)
Jane shoots Troy in the groin and leaves him to get devoured by walkers for helping keep her incarcerated and supporting Carver's group's methods of enslavement. (In Harm's Way)
Kenny beats Arvo close to death for the death of Luke. (No Going Back)
Clementine can execute Kenny after he kills Jane. (No Going Back)
Clementine can abandon Jane after discovering her deception. (No Going Back)
Michonne later punishes Randall by torturing him through crushing his hands in a vice and beating him heavily when Pete restrains him. (What We Deserve)
Javier can execute Badger or leave him to turn for murdering his niece Mariana. (Above The Law)
Conrad can kill Badger or leave him to turn for murdering his girlfriend Francine, and for having his home overrun with walkers. (Above The Law)
Tripp can kill Badger or leave him to turn for murdering Maríana (Determinant), murdering Francine, and having his home overrun with walkers. (Above The Law)
Maria's Group exiles a man for stealing a whole shipment of grain, threatening to kill him should the man return. Ilunna tells Clementine that the closest town to Nuuk Centrum is not close so the man will likely die. (Book Three: Chapter Four)
After helping Clementine to steal formula for Romi, Biina jokes that Maria will cut her hand off if she gets caught before claiming that Maria would actually just kill her. (Book Three: Chapter Five)
Dan is punished and disemboweled for nearly raping Carl Grimes by Rick.(A)
Bob is captured by Gareth and the other Terminus survivors and has his left leg amputated from the knee down and cannibalized as punishment for the loss of Terminus and fellow residents during the rescue mission. (Strangers)
Benjamin from the Kingdom is unintentionally killed as punishment for the Kingdom not meeting its requirements in their offering to the Saviors. (Bury Me Here)
Negan kills Simon for attempting to usurp him, killing the Scavengers and for recklessly risking the lives of Saviors in the attack on the Hilltop. (Worth)
Negan is imprisoned by Rick Grimes for his atrocities towards the groups he subjugated and also to be a symbol of progress towards restoring society. (Wrath)
The Saviors are stripped of all firearms and forbidden from using them due to their past crimes.
Maggie executes Gregory by hanging for attempting to murder her. (A New Beginning)
Alpha stabbed one the Whisperers for seeing her "weak". (The Calm Before)
Stating that God uses fire as a method of punishment as well as purification, Pope burns Bossie to death for supposedly abandoning Michael Turner to die. (Rendition)
Disgusted by their role in the deaths of 30 to 40 innocent people, Mercer summarily executes Alves and Castle for their crimes. (The Rotten Core)
Ezekiel and Tomi are arrested for stealing from the Commonwealth Hospital, but Carol is able to use her new job working with Lance Hornsby to get them released with discretion. (Trust)
After Sebastian Milton's crimes are exposed, a massive crowd of protestors gathers to call for Sebastian to be punished for his actions. (Lockdown) They are later appeased when Pamelapins her son's crimes on Lance. (A New Deal)
Pamela arrests Lance for both his crimes and Sebastian's and tells Lance that he will be put on trial for the things that he's done. (A New Deal)
Pamela has Roman Calhoun executed for his role in Sebastian's death and forces Lance to cut the body up and feed it to the undead Sebastian. (Variant)
Pamela has the Commonwealth Army chase Eugene, intending put him on trial for the murder of Sebastian as an example for all of the Commonwealth to see. Mercer attempts to protect Max from facing a similar punishment by having her place all of the blame on Eugene, but she refuses. Eugene later turns himself and confesses, but claims that he had acted alone in order to protect Max. (Variant) Pamela attempts to give Eugene's trial the facade of legitimacy by blackmailing his friend Yumiko into being the prosecutor. However, after learning that Daryl and Carol escaped, Yumiko instead publicly announces that Eugene has been wrongly and unjustly accused by Pamela Milton and the Commonwealth and she will act as his defense attorney at trial. (What's Been Lost) Eugene is ultimately convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to execution, but Mercer breaks him out instead. (Faith)
The Warden prepares to execute Negan and Annie for the revolt that Negan helps to brew. Ezekiel and a number of other prisoners stand between the soldiers and Negan and Annie, prompting the Warden to order their executions as well. However, Ezekiel is able to convince most of the Commonwealth soldiers to stand down, preventing the execution. (Faith)
Mercer arrests Pamela for high crimes against the Commonwealth after Vickers and the Commonwealth Army is convinced to turn against her. Agreeing with Negan that this is a fate worse than death, Maggie stops Pamela from committing suicide by having a zombified Lance bite her. (Rest in Peace)
Arno attempts to punish Alicia Clark for the losses that the Doomsday Cult had suffered under her leadership by feeding Alicia to several of the people that they had lost, now walkers. However, Alicia is rescued by Paul. (Follow Me)
Hope Bennett is arrested after her illegal stash of alcohol is discovered. Hope is eventually released into the custody of her sister, but Hope is warned that she will have to go before the Campus Colony Council for her actions. (Brave)
Silas is tied up outside while the Endlings discuss possible punishments for Silas due to his apparent murder of Tony Delmado and the vanished Percy, particularly as they can't take him back to Omaha to stand trial like the rules say. As the group argues about whether or not to exile him, Silas chooses to exile himself for their protection, believing himself to be a violent murderer. (The Sky Is a Graveyard)
Huck reveals that her assignment in Omaha was a way of making up for Huck trying to cover for her husband and getting caught. (Who Are You?)
After learning from Brody that The Perimeter is conspiring against the CRM with the Endlings, Jadis sends Sergeant Mills' squad to kill them all. After Indira fails to talk Jadis down, Jadis orders Mills to go through with the execution. However, Will Campbell, Dennis Graham and Silas intervene, sparking a gunfight that kills Mills and all of his men, stopping the execution. (Returning Point)
After Brody tries to blackmail her, Huck executes him with a headshot in order to protect herself and as a punishment for his actions. (Returning Point)
Jadis has Kublek arrested, telling her that she is remanded to the Civic Republic Military Health and Welfare Center until she can be tried for Article 94 of the Uniform Code of Civic Republic Military Justice. When Kublek asks what it's for, Jadis tells her treason and lists Kublek's inability to see that her own daughter was a traitor, her failure to deal with the threat from the Bennett family, letting the people of the Perimeter live and then supposedly doing nothing to stop it when things went wrong. It's suggested that Jadis is using Kublek as a scapegoat for everything going wrong and so that she can advance her own career in the CRM. (The Last Light)
At la Biomédicine / DDMI in France, a man promises a woman that if the other scientists return, they will be killed and not imprisoned like the others. He then summarily executes the woman with a shot to the back for her role in the Wildfire Virus. (The Last Light)
As punishment for Brooke failing her daughter, Dee prepares to kill her before Lydia talks her down. Instead, Dee scars Brooke's face, cutting open Brooke's left cheek from just below her left eye, through her lips and stopping at her chin as a reminder forever of how Brooke failed Lydia. (Dee)
As punishment for Davon's believed harming of their children, the Madawaska townspeople sentence him to be trapped in a van, crushed by a bulldozer, the undead eat his remains and his blood absorbed by the Earth. Davon will die alone, his name erased, and his memory lost. However, after Davon remembers that Garen escaped, Nora causes a riot while trying to stop his execution and manages to shut down the bulldozer, allowing Davon to escape. (Davon)
After learning that Arnaud is the true killer, the vengeful parents of his victims beat him up and toss him into a pit to be devoured by Greer and David, his last two undead victims. (Davon)
Death appears to be the most common punishment for the New Babylon Federation, enacted for crimes as serious as murder and for lesser crimes such as liquor, drugs, gambling and whoredom which, together, amount to a public execution. New Babylon is shown to have various methods of execution ranging from hanging to feeding the perpetrator to walkers. (Old Acquaintances)
Maggie passes by two people who have been hanged for their crimes by New Babylon marshals near a sign for the community. (Old Acquaintances)
Perlie Armstrong reveals to a bar full of people that Negan faces execution for his crimes. However, Negan won't be hanged but rather "he'll be dangled upside down and sawed in half lengthwise from the groin to the head, very, very slowly."(Old Acquaintances)
Perlie threatens to feed Jones to a herd for her illegal establishment. After she gives up information on Negan, he seemingly relents before suddenly feeding Jones to the herd for the crime of aiding and abetting a fugitive instead. (Old Acquaintances)
On his way back to New Babylon, Perlie passes three criminals who have been hanged at the roadside. (Doma Smo)
Perlie claims that he shot the outlaw Negan dead for his crimes, (Doma Smo) something that he gains a reputation for amongst the communities of the New Babylon Federation. (Power Equals Power)
Major Lucia Narvaez accuses Maggie of desertion and threatens to hang Maggie and the 20 soldiers that she stood in for, starting with Hershel. Enraged at the threat to her son, Maggie punches Lucia in the face. Declaring that insubordination is also a crime, Lucia orders that Maggie and Hershel be locked up in the shaft alley. Maggie and Hershel are later freed by Ginny when the Liberty Queen comes under attack. (Another Shitty Lesson)
Lucia tells Ginny that Charlie Byrd had taught her about the importance of the law and that every crime must be punished. (Feisty Friendly)
After learning of Negan's survival from Ginny, Lucia locks Roksana up for refusing to have the Foragers join New Babylon's cause and arrests Perlie for treason for his lies. However, she promises to leave Maggie alone as long as the other woman didn't break the law. Maggie is nearly arrested for bearing false witness before Perlie confesses to his lie to save her. (The Bird Always Knows)
After Maggie's failed attempt to kill her, Lucia attempts to hang Roksana, Maggie and presumably Perlie. Although Roksana is successfully hanged, a massive herd attacks the execution, killing all of the Foragers and the surviving New Babylonians. Ironically, Lucia falls victim to a zombified Roksana while she tries to escape from the chaos and Maggie is saved from the noose by Ginny who had earlier betrayed her. (The Bird Always Knows)
After capturing Perlie and Bruegel, Negan prepares to kill them with Lucille in a moment reminiscent of the lineup where he killed Abraham and Glenn. However, fed up with Bruegel's obsession with the methane, Negan instead grabs a nearby fuel hose and inserts it into Bruegel's mouth, forcing him to swallow some methane before Negan ignites it with a torch. The ignited methane burns Bruegel to death from the inside before Negan smashes his head with Lucille to the horror of Maggie and Perlie. (If History Were a Conflagration)
As a punishment for trying to attack Guillermo Torres, Jaime suffers strappado, a method of torture where he is strung up in the Solaz del Mar square with rocks tied to his feet. Despite being in intense pain, Jaime defiantly yells at the El Alcázar soldiers to increase the weight and Guillermo complies. (La Ofrenda)
Following Los Primitivos' attack on Solaz del Mar, the residents argue over the punishment of the Primitivo who was captured. Fede decides to go with what he declares to be "frontier justice" by chaining the man to a few zombified Primitivo raiders in a chain gang and then releasing the walkers upon the Primitivo who dies at their hands once his stamina runs out. (La Justicia Fronteriza)
Two El Alcázar soldiers sadistically try to punish Roberto by dangling him off of a bridge to be devoured by a small herd of walkers. However, he is rescued by Daryl, Carol and Antonio. (Limbo)
Fede claims that Antonio's torture by strappado is his punishment for helping Daryl and Carol following Daryl killing three El Alcázar soldiers. Fede claims that Antonio's death will serve as the justice that El Alcázar is sure to seek. (Solaz del Mar)
As a form of public execution, Fede chains Roberto to the corpses of Rodolfo and Daniel who soon reanimate and have his men lead a herd of the town's patrol walkers in from every direction to surround Carol, Antonio and Roberto. The intervention of Daryl stops the execution while the arrival of Justina results in Fede's exposure for his crimes. With his niece's life in danger, Fede and his men join Daryl in eliminating the walkers, ending the attempted execution. (Solaz del Mar)
Sergio and three of Fede's men are either exiled from Solaz or leave on their own to avoid punishment for their crimes. (Solaz del Mar)
As punishment for Fede's crimes, Roberto and Justina have him locked in Solaz's dungeon, showing Fede mercy rather than stooping to his level. However, Fede convinces Marga to help him escape, claiming that the townspeople will execute him once Justina sails off with the rest of Daryl's Group. (Solaz del Mar)
Antonio warns Daryl that he's not safe because El Alcázar will still want justice, but Daryl and Justina reveal that El Alcázar has been destroyed. (Solaz del Mar)
For not giving Kimmie to his group and for stopping him from raiding Mauricio's family, Harlan and his men attack the hero's group, later killing Nathan. (Social Game)
