Of Mice And Men: Is Lennie Justified?

In the story Of Mice and Men, George ends Lennie’s life. He does this because Lennie killed Curley's wife. Many argue that George’s actions were justifiable, but I believe they are flawed and wrong.
Lennie wasn’t aware of his actions. Lennie is mentally impaired and doesn't understand that he can easily kill things. He displays this confusion about his strength continuously throughout the story. On pg. 85, the book says, "Lennie sat in the hay and looked at a little dead puppy that lay in front of him." Then Lennie himself says, "Why have you got to be killed?" This clearly illustrates that Lennie doesn't know that he can easily hurt things. He's visibly confused about why the puppy died. He doesn't understand that what he's doing to these animals and eventually humans is dangerous. Lennie never meant to hurt anyone; he doesn't comprehend the fact that he is stronger than most and can easily hurt others.

George thought he was doing the right thing by killing Lennie, but he only did it in self-interest. He didn't want to face repercussions or consequences for the things Lennie had done. Even though George says continuously throughout the story that he would look out for Lennie, he still ended up betraying him. George expressed his want to distance himself from Lennies crime after him and Candy found Curley’s wife’s body in the barn on pg. 95 when he states, “O.K. give me a couple of minutes then, and you come runnin’out an’ tell like you jus’ found her. I'm going now.” He told candy to specifically wait till he left because he didnt want to be blamed for the murder. This was his final step in betraying George. Killing Lennie was a faluire of Georges part to fufill his duty as a ture