Future-picker blows up sun

[TomMazanec]

50s? 60s? Short story. Character can see alternate futures and pick which ones happen. For example, he picks one where his birthday present is a bicycle.
One day he tries to save a child from drowning, but it turns out the child was murdered and he gets sentenced to hang. He picks out a future where the Governor's pardon arrives just as he was about to be hung. But he didn't look far enough along the timeline...the mob tramples the messenger and proceeds to hang him anyway. Every future he looks at has him die. So he says "If God will not punish you, I will!" He looks where the town is burned up in a wildfire...not enough. He looks where enemy bombers take out the town...not enough. Finally, just as he is being hung, he picks one where the sun goes nova.

 

[Yammerhant]

This one annoyed me for ages until I stumbled across the answer on Stackexchange - it's "Judgement Day" (1958) by Lloyd Biggle. In the story the protagonist is in prison, sentenced to death, but is not afraid since he can choose a future where he does not have to die. However, after his execution has failed multiple times a mob gathers to lynch him and he suddenly finds that there is no future to select in which he will survive. So he selects a future where he can at least take the mob with him (and everybody else) and the sun goes nova.

This is another golden oldie that can be read on the Internet Archive - link

 

[Ravensquawk]

Thanks! Just read it.
Ugh. My first story by Lloyd Biggle also showed his apparent hatred of "capital punishment" and of people being spectators at other people's suffering. I admire SF authors for being the speakers against horrific social practices.
I'd never heard of it but like time travel and alternate universe stories.

He's same author as Lloyd Biggle, Jr. -- just checked, because this story is 1958, and I wondered it it was two generations of authors.