It's more along the lines of: You're going to do things they don't like, but if they kill you (or even if you die by accident), you'll release even MORE damagin

It's more along the lines of: You're going to do things they don't like, but if they kill you (or even if you die by accident), you'll release even MORE damaging material that could harm them to a far greater degree. It doesn't even have to be court-admissible to be damaging. This is about leverage, and perhaps even bluff. It's never a binary situation, nor are there any guarantees.