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Do you honestly think that the kind of people who are going to nail knees to the floor - of anyone - are a) at all interested in whether you don't have what they want in the first place, b) going to be letting you walk away to talk about it even if you capitulate, c) not going to those tactics against absolutely anyone else if they thought for a second it would help them?

Sorry, but in legal, moral and self-defence terms, you have to treat any credible threat as coming from someone perfectly capable of that action. As such, you have to assume - and it's not a bad assumption - they're going to do it anyway, no matter what you do. The second you give up the info, they're not going to think it's enough and do more. And then they'll do you, because you're not co-operating. And then kill all the witnesses because they're just that type of person.

Like you say - if they're already at the "inflicting a fate worse than death" stage, then... what do you think it going to improve about that situation if you co-operate? They'll merely kill you and everyone else anyway.

You respond to credible threats as if they are going to be carried out. Whether that's a threat of a fight on a street, a shot through your head, exposure of your naughty photos, a fire in your building, someone trying to gain entrance to your property or anything else. If the threat is credible, you have to assume it's going to happen.

The kind of guys who torture your friends/family because you wouldn't co-operate are the exact kind of person who no amount of co-operation will appease and, in fact, even if you get on their good side somehow would just make your life worse as they'd come calling for every little favour under threat of more violence. That's how you end up being the drugs mule... do it or your brother dies... Once you're at that point, literally the only thing you're gaining is a quicker death, which might well be a blessing.

You are literally in a no-win situation at that point, you're being threatened with - effectively - murder by your murderer.

For that situation, you cannot with any certainty ever improve the situation by capitulating. However, when it comes to muggings, burglaries, dodgy photos, etc. with much less severe outcomes even possible, then you *certainly* can't improve the situation by capitulating, and actually improve your odds by not capitulating.