Themes: Punishment

Punishment is a recurring theme in The Walking Dead. It is commonly in the form of torture, is the infliction or imposition of a penalty as retribution for an offense.

Comic Series

 * Jim believes he needs to punish himself for leaving his family behind. (Comic Series)
 * Tyreese kills Chris as punishment for killing his daughter, Julie. (Issue 15)
 * Thomas Richards is planned to be executed for the murders of Rachel and Susie Greene. (Issue 18)
 * Michonne is raped by The Governor, partly due to her biting his ear. (Issue 29)


 * The Governor decapitates Tyreese in retaliation for not being let in. (Issue 47)
 * Lilly Caul kills The Governor as punishment for forcing her to kill a baby. (Issue 48)
 * Gabriel feels he should be punished for abandoning his parishioners. (Issue 63)
 * Rick's group kill The Hunters as punishment for their acts of cannibalism. (Fear The Hunters)
 * Rick executes Pete for killing Regina. (Issue 77)
 * Negan kills Glenn in retaliation for the deaths of his men. (Issue 100)
 * Negan forces Carl to sing to him and show his eye socket to him, as punishment for killing six of The Saviors. (Issue 105)
 * Negan burns the faces of some of his followers, with an iron, for sleeping with any of his wives. Some known victims are Dwight and Mark. (Issue 105)
 * Negan kills David for attempting to rape Holly. (Issue 117)
 * Rick punishes Negan by incarcerating him in the jail, giving him a life sentence.(Comic Series)
 * Maggie locks Gregory in a room for poisoning her. (Issue 138)</sub

TV Series

 * Shane attacks and beats Ed as punishment for abusing Carol. (Tell It to the Frogs)
 * Jim believes he needs to punish himself for leaving his family behind. (Vatos)
 * Daryl tortures Randall. (Judge, Jury, Executioner)
 * Merle tortures Glenn. (When the Dead Come Knocking)
 * Merle is detained by The Governor as punishment for lying about Michonne's death. (Made to Suffer)
 * Daryl is detained by The Governor as punishment for being a part of the attack on Woodbury. (Made to Suffer)
 * The Governor handcuffs Andrea to a chair in his workshop as punishment for trying to escape Woodbury.  (Prey )
 * The Governor beats Milton as punishment for helping Andrea, eventually stabbing him and causing him to reanimate. (Welcome to the Tombs)
 * Rick banishes Carol from the Prison for killing Karen and David. (Indifference)
 * The Governor decapitates Hershel as punishment for believing Rick lied to him. (Too Far Gone)
 * The Claimers punish those who break their rules.  (Season 4 )
 * 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)
 * Noah is punished by Dawn Lerner after lying about accidentally killing Gavin Trevitt. (Slabtown)
 * Beth Greene is punished by Dawn after trying to escape Grady Memorial Hospital. (Slabtown)
 * Pete Anderson is executed by Rick Grimes for killing Reg Monroe. (Conquer)
 * Negan punishes Rick's group for the deaths of many Saviors by bashing in the head of Abraham Ford. (Last Day on Earth)
 * Negan punishes Rick's group for Daryl's violent outburst after Abraham's execution by killing Glenn Rhee by bashing his head in with his baseball bat Lucille. (The Day Will Come When You Won't Be)
 * Negan forces Carl to sing him a song and show his eye socket to him, as punishment for killing two of The Saviors.
 * Dan is punished and disemboweled for nearly raping Carl Grimes by Rick

Webisodes

 * B.J. kept Kelly tied up to a bed in the back where he sexually abused her. (Cold Storage)
 * Kelly decapitates B.J. in retaliation for raping her. (Cold Storage)

Video Game

 * Lee is incarcerated by the law for murder. (Season 1)
 * Lee can kill Andy and Danny for their acts of cannibalism. (Determinant) (Starved For Help)
 * 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)
 * Justin is sentenced to jail for an unknown crime. (Vince's Story)
 * Vince is sent to prison for murder. (Vince's Story)
 * Danny is sent to prison for raping presumably a minor.
 * Roman can kill Roberto for trying to steal supplies. (Shel's Story)
 * Shel can kill Stephanie for trying to steal. (Shel's Story)
 * Clementine is hit by Carver for eavesdropping on his and Tavia's conversation. (Determinant) (In Harm's Way)
 * Reggie, Jane and Mike are kept in the yard of Howe's Hardware as punishment for disobeying Carver's rules. (In Harm's Way)
 * 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. (In Harm's Way)
 * Jane shoots Troy in the privates 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)
 * Randall punishes Michonne (Determinant) and Greg when interrogating them. (In Too Deep)
 * 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)
 * Michonne can have Paige shoot Norma as punishment for Gabby killing Berto. (What We Deserve)

Dead Reckoning

 * Leon Basset puts Robb Spanner in a holding cell for behaving disorderly.
 * Shane Walsh puts Gary Taylor in a holding cell for shooting his daughter's boyfriend and resisting arrest.

Social Game

 * 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.

Novel Series

 * Tara Chalmers forces Brian Blake, Philip Blake, Penny Blake, and Nick Parsons out of the apartment for Philip's rape of April Chalmers. (Rise of the Governor)
 * Philip tortures Sonny and Cher for being a part of his daughter's murder. (Rise of the Governor)
 * Josh Lee Hamilton is exiled for killing Chad Bingham. (The Road to Woodbury)
 * The National guard members are forced to fight in the arena for their totalitarian regime over Woodbury. (The Road to Woodbury)
 * Sam the Butcher is forced to fight in the arena for his murder of Josh. (The Road to Woodbury)
 * Brian forces Martinez, Lilly, and Dr. Stevens to chop dead bodies as punishment for their mutiny. (The Road to Woodbury)