Sons Of Anarchy: The 10 Most Unnecessary Deaths On The Show

In Sons of Anarchy, murders are customary since the show is set in the chaotic underworld of Charming, California. The executions happen due to a variety of reasons. Some kill as a way to get revenge whereas others do it in self-defense. Gang wars are also common on the show, with many outlaws losing their lives in the process.

Whenever someone gets slaughtered on the FX show, it tends to be justified but a few murders have come off as completely unnecessary. Not much damage could have happened if the killers had chosen a different course of action as an alternative to murder. Born out of misunderstandings, fear, panic, or outright amorality, the killings left fans downhearted.

10 Gemma Murders Tara, Believing She’s Saving The Club

Gemma becomes paranoid when Unser wrongfully informs her that Tara made a deal with the authorities. She proceeds to suffocate Tara on the kitchen sink before stabbing her in the back of the had with a barbecue knife.

It’s an unfortunate occurrence because both Unser and Gemma misunderstood what transpired. Jax, not Tara, is the one who has made a deal with DA Patterson. Unser takes a huge chunk of the blame as it is his obsession with Gemma that pushes him to feed her with misinformation, thinking she’ll appreciate it. As for Gemma. it has always been clear that she hates Tara and to her, the news about the deal is only an excuse for her to finally end the doctor’s life.

9 Opie Gets Clobbered To Death In Prison

As revenge for his daughter Veronica’s death, Damon Pope demands the death of a Son at the San Joaquin County Correctional Facility. Opie volunteers and he is subjected to a gladiatorial type of execution where he is forced to fight a group of 5 able-bodied men.

By ordering the death, Damon Pope pushes the Sons too far since he’d already gotten his revenge by burning Tig’s daughter alive. It’s basically him taking two eyes for an eye instead of an eye for an eye. Even though Opie proves himself as one of the best fighters in Sons Of Anarchy during that prison scene, his death hurts more than most since he was not only one of the good-hearted bikers but had also suffered so much tragedy in his life.

8 Otto Stabs Pamela Toric With A Crucifix

In prison, Otto demands that a crucifix be brought to him so that he can pray. Instead, he goes on to stab a prison nurse named Pamela Toric with it.

The murder is nothing but a psychotic outburst and it yields great consequences. Lee Toric, Pamela’s equally psychotic U.S Marshall brother, shows up seeking revenge. It’s Toric who urges DA Patterson to go after the Sons, telling her it would be good for a career. From this perspective, the deal Jax makes with Patterson and Tara’s subsequent death can all be traced back to Otto selfishly murdering an innocent nurse.

7 Jax Delivers Justice On The Wrong Person

Feeling guilty over Tara’s death, Gemma frames Lin Triad member Chris Dun for the murder. Jax later tortures the man and ends his life only for him to later find out that Chris was in a different state when Tara was murdered.

Despite there being a history of animosity between Gemma and Tara, never in his wildest dreams does Jax imagine that his mother might be the person responsible for his wife’s death. For someone who is often portrayed as one of the smartest characters in Sons Of Anarchy, he shows poor judgment here. Consequently, a deadly war is triggered, leading to plenty of casualties.

6 Donna Gets Killed After Being Mistaken For Opie

Thinking he’s a turncoat, Clay orders a hit on Opie. However, Opie switches cars with his wife Donna and as a result, Tig tails her instead without knowing. He shoots, only to realize he has killed Donna instead of Opie.

The tragic outcome reveals just how much damage rush decisions can cause in the underworld. Targeting Opie is a mistake in the first place since he’s being framed by ATF agent June Stahl. So, even if Tig had killed Opie, it would still have been an unnecessary death. Donna’s death raises plenty of “what if?” questions. What if Opie had listened to her and declined Jax’s offer to rejoin SAMCRO? What if Clay had realized early enough that Opie was being framed?

5 August Marks Shoots Bobby During The Exchange

At the height of Marks’ feud with Jax, the Pope Partners Inc. boss kidnaps Bobby and has him tortured. His fingers get cut and his eye gets gouged out. To get Bobby back, Jax agrees to give up the leverage he has on Marks but during the exchange, Marks shoots Bobby.

Killing Bobby is a completely dishonorable action since Jax has already waved the white flag at that point. However, being dishonorable is something new for members of Pope Partners Inc. since Damon Pope exhibited similar traits. The kill also makes little sense since Bobby had already been tortured too much. Keeping him alive would have served as a reminder that Marks is not to be messed with.

4 June Stahl Murders Her Lover

After breaking up with Deputy Hale, ATF agent June Stahl is revealed to be one of the show’s LGBTQ characters when she starts dating her fellow agent Amy Tyler. The two appear very much in love but in what could qualify as one of the most shocking twists in Sons Of Anarchy, Stahl kills her and frames her for the murder of Edmond Hayes.

Killing her lover is despicable, even by Stahl’s standards. Since she is shown to have perfected the art of framing, she could easily have pinned the murder on another Son instead of Amy. SAMCRO members were her true enemies after all. By killing Amy, she also loses someone who truly has her back and doesn’t mind how evil she is.

3 Juice Shoots Miles To Cover His Crime

When a brick of cocaine from the club’s shipment gets stolen, Miles discovers that Juice is the one who did it. He tries to take him back to the club so that he can confess to other members but Juice shoots him.

Juice almost sets a record for questionable life choices in Sons Of Anarchy, and he adds yet another entry into his personal list on this occasion by shooting Miles instead of coming to the club. By telling his colleagues that he’d been blackmailed by AUSA Potter and forced to steal the cocaine brick, all would have been forgiven. After all, it was later proven that contrary to Juice’s belief, no one had a problem with him having a Black father.

2 Wayne Unser Sacrifices Himself

Upon learning that Jax is heading over to Gemma’s location to deliver justice for Tara’s death, Unser rushes there too. His refusal to back down forces the President to shoot him.

The unnecessary kill is Unser’s own fault. The best option for him is to let “evil son” deal with “evil mother” the best way he knows how but he doesn’t do that. After all, street justice was something he had seen play out so many times before. His being righteous all of a sudden was hypocritical. And even though he has feelings for Gemma, he logically should have renounced her after learning what she had done. That way, he’d still be alive.

1 Jax Shoots A Fellow President

Believing he is responsible for informing the Lin Triad about the club’s secret gun shipment, Jax shoots the Indian Hills charter, President Jury White. He later learns that the culprit was Charlie Barosky, one of the villainous law enforcement officers in Sons Of Anarchy.

The murder creates all sorts of problems for Jax since taking the life of a fellow President is a cardinal sin with only one punishment: meeting “Mr. Mayhem.”Jax tries to cover up the murder by citing self-defense but he is later forced to admit culpability. Among other things, the decision to end Jury’s life causes his downfall.