Putting strict inside the BEGIN block keeps it from being seen for the whole module. Since use already happens immediately upon parsing the command, there is likewise no win for putting Carp inside the BEGIN block. As for turning warnings into dies, you could inline it like you are doing or create a small pragmatic module for it.

One problem though. Warnings are added from time to time, so if you inline it there is a real possibility that a future change could hose large portions of your programs. Putting it in the module leaves you just as strict now, but with room to avoid a bad upgrade later. :-)