Why do the Survey Corps kill this character?


In chapter 76 of the manga of Attack on Titan, it appears that the Survey
Corps. have killed

> Reiner Braun.

I don't understand why they killed him, especially when they needed
information from him.




To begin with, it's not certain that Reiner is actually dead, the final frame
of the manga shows the Armored Titan suffering intense damage, but as we
haven't yet seen his corpse, it's best not to draw conclusions - he did just
survive being half decapitated after all!

Secondly, even if he were to die, there is still the Colossal and Beast Titans
that would be in possession of the same or similar information. As mentioned
in Yokhen's comment, Annie too is in captivity and remains a potential source
of information should she ever awaken. And as mentioned in Astral Sea's
comment, it is believed that the information they need is in Eren's basement
anyway.

Thirdly, and maybe most importantly, one of the Survey Corps. major objectives
is the elimination of the duo that breached the wall in the first instance, as
all other walls are in danger while they remain free. Therefore, in Erwin's
eyes at this time, the deaths of Reiner and Bertolt are likely far more
advantageous than having them alive for questioning:

![img](https://i.stack.imgur.com/9qs9x.png)

