Martinez knew the governor from before and offered him leadership he didn't want. What are the governor's options? He has many. Talk to Martinez. Leave the camp. Stay silent and leave the camp if stuff gets bad later. But he jumps straight to "Kill Martinez and feed him to zombies".

Some guy in camp is a bad leader. Options? Talk to him. Call a meeting and try to convince the camp that he's a bad leader and should be replaced. Leave the camp. Governor's decision? Surprise murder.

In the last season, the governor finds some camp of army guys. Options? Ignore them. Keep an eye on them and defend yourself if they come close. Barter with them. Invite them into town. Governor's option? Ambush-murder, keep one of their heads in a jar.

Governor's motivations for murdering people include 1) you have something he wants, 2) you don't obey his orders immediately, 3) he wants to have a fun arena battle of you vs. zombies, 4) you used to know him and you might talk to people about it, 5) you're too hesitant to kill people and he thinks you're weak. Among others.

He doesn't value human life and has no regard for suffering beyond his own and people in his immediate in-group. It's interesting how this show seems to draw us a little bit into the mindset of a world where killing people isn't that big a deal. He seems to me to be irredeemable. I think you get to come back from the things you did if you're an otherwise good person who made mistakes. I think there's a limit.

Quote Originally Posted by foa
Remember that he ventured alone into the nursing home to retrieve oxygen tanks for Lilly's dad? Remember that he tried to take them all back with him, but could only get two?
That's one of the few things that makes me doubt my psychopath theory.