If you do get caught however, for whatever reason, you’ll be looking at a much harsher sentence if you killed your hostage. There’s also more of a chance law e

If you do get caught however, for whatever reason, you’ll be looking at a much harsher sentence if you killed your hostage. There’s also more of a chance law enforcement will continue to look for you if you make the news for murder than if you return the hostage (one can easily imagine it won’t be top priority for them then). With that said, not all criminals are excellent game theorists...