Could John Have Spared Mary

[JMadonna]

If John had returned, would his mother have been spared?

Laurie, you know my feelings on the matter so my answer is no.
Mary knew the secret of the passes so she had to die. It would have made much better sense to give her a long prison sentence saving the government the onus of executing a woman AND keeping a bargaining chip for getting John to talk when captured.

But the truth is always what the government says it is, so they weren't interested in what John had to say.