Heyyy relax guy!

The idea behind a ransom is that all parties need to believe with certainty that as long as money is exchanged, then nobody gets hurt. As soon as there’s doubt about getting paid or about being released, then suddenly there’s turmoil for any other party to hold up their end.

If I’m told I need to pay a ransom to get somebody freed but I know they may not be released even after I pay, then I may not pay. So it’s in the captors best interest to always release them upon receiving payment.

Then again we’re dealing with desperate, possibly evil people with no sense of morality and who will never have considered game theory before. Real life is messy.

Do you guys remember driving down the highway in the 90’s and having your car absolutely covered in the mangled corpses of insects? To the point where wiper fluid is called bug wash?

I don’t know if this is the same everywhere, but my car stays pretty clean these days.