In Con razón o sin ella [Rightly or Wrongly], two Spanish soldiers confront three French soldiers who are well armed with bayonets and lined up in an execution squad formation. One of the Spaniards carries a dagger in his hand and bleeds profusely from his mouth. In the background one can observe a group of characters fighting, perhaps in an effort to avoid the fate of the figures in the foreground.

As in many other images within the series Desastres de la guerra [Disasters of War], Goya depicts an uneven fight: the light shirts and short pants of the Spanish soldiers pitted against the cape, belt, and saber sheath of the French soldiers. The people of Spain compensated their lack of armament with courage. The proximity between victims and executioners emphasizes the dramatic effect.

The French soldiers appear with their backs to the viewer, alluding to the universal character of violence. With a similar intention, Goya discards any reference to the landscape within the scene. The executioners form a compact group, a sole figure nullifying singularity of any sort.