Gaddafi killing: Was it wrong? Readers respond.

The death of former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi has been shrouded in mystery following conflicting statements from officials and chaotic iPhone video that have made the rounds around the Internet, including GlobalPost's exclusive video showing the moment Gaddafi was pulled from his hiding place.

In light of the Geneva Conventions' ban on the killing of captives — and the Libyan National Transitional Council’s recent U.N. recognition — the question was put to GlobalPost Facebook and Twitter followers, “Was Gaddafi’s killing wrong?”

Most people who voted on our Facebook poll answered that Gaddafi deserved a trial.  Out of the 987 votes we've received so far, 416 voted that the killing was wrong.  Another 302 voters answered, "No, he deserved to die, no matter what."

Below, GlobalPost selected some of the wide-ranging responses. What's your view? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

More: Highlights of Gaddafi death coverage

On Facebook, Helen Connors-Smith wrote:

No, it was not wrong for HIS PEOPLE to kill him ~ he has been slaughtering them for generations!

Isabel Garcia Strezepka wrote:

We are not them, we have not suffered their plight. Therefore we have no right to judge them. I don't necessarily agree with a vengeance kill, but like I said before I have not walked a mile in their shoes so I have not right to say nay or yay.

More: Libya looks to the future after Gaddafi's death

Sal Cachola wrote:

It is wrong to intentionally kill a captive, it is murder. No matter how bad a person Gaddafi had been, he still was entitled to be tried and made to answer the charges against him. Summarily killing him made us all party to his depravity.

Claire Malone wrote:

he was killed by the very people he tortured and oppressed – karma – and the GC should stay out of it – I am not a violent person but understand how this would have been the natural progression of this event.

K.C. Compton wrote:

Yep. If anyone deserved it, he did. But the rule of law is sometimes directly opposed to our deepest desires — and that's why it matters so much that we honor it, whatever our country, whenever we possibly can.

Martie Ramsey wrote:

Well he was told he should give himself up and stand trial… he became a fugitive (his choice) and he got shot… something that tends to happen with fugitives

P.j. Trpster wrote:

Everybody is like, "cool they got him", "cool he got what he deserved". Maybe so, but if it had been Americans who did this, instead of locals the story would be so different. I am sorry to see another person hurt, I am sorry that he did not have to account for his crimes in public. I am saddened at double standards.