I would vote mercy. The reasons that people have mentioned (how he suffered, the way he looked, etc.) and the pain he inflicted on others (torture, spousal abuse, etc.) notwithstanding, he's an outrageous and entertaining character. His aristocratic bearing, his regal voice and diction, some of his dialogue, his arrogance, his flamboyantly evil persona are almost Shakespearean. One line in particular struck me, when the doctor tells him he has no decency or human feeling: "Life has erased all decency and human feeling from my heart." That is a real tragedy, sadness beyond compare. Even if most people would never stoop to the depths of degradation to which he did, I think anyone who has suffered in life could feel compassion for that and know how that pain feels. It's just a B movie, a little cheesy, designed strictly for entertainment and cheap thrills. But hearing the character say that, I couldn't help but feel great sympathy for him, and the pain that brought him to that point.
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