Death by government

Via Borepatch

In the old Roman Republic before the wars of Marius and Sulla it was considered sacrilege to put to death a Roman Citizen without trial. The Civil Wars changed that, and when one faction won it would publish lists of enemies who could be killed without trial or mercy if found within Roman jurisdiction. Most lists of proscription also carried rewards to those who found and executed the proscribed enemy of the people. Proscriptions also carried confiscation of property, and were used by Sulla to replenish the treasury.

After Sulla the practice was used by other factions. Julius Caesar refused to employ such a device on his election as Consul and elevation to dictatorship, but when Caesar was assassinated

Plutarch, Life of Cicero, 46.3-6:

3 The proscription of Cicero, however, caused most strife in their debates, Antony consenting to no terms unless Cicero should be the first man to be put to death, Lepidus siding with Antony, and [Octavius] Caesar holding out against them both. 4 They held secret meetings by themselves near the city of Bononia for three days, coming together in a place at some distance from the camps and surrounded by a river. 5 It is said that for the first two days Caesar kept up his struggle to save Cicero, but yielded on the third and gave him up. The terms of their mutual concessions were as follows. Caesar was to abandon Cicero, Lepidus his brother Paulus, and Antony Lucius Caesar, who was his uncle on the mother’s side.

Cicero was murdered on December 7, 43 BC. His last words were “There is nothing proper about what you are doing, soldier, but do try to kill me properly.” His head was struck off and exhibited in the Forum. Marc Anthony’s wife pierced Cicero’s tongue with a hatpin as retaliation for the effective speeches Cicero had made against Anthony during the period when Cicero sided with Octavius against Anthony. The proscription lists were negotiated when Octavius, Anthony, and Lepidus formed an alliance. Cicero’s crime was his eloquent speeches.

President Barack Obama says the killing of American-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen "is a major blow to al-Qaida’s most active operational affiliate."

Obama also says it "marks another significant milestone in the broader effort to defeat al’Qaida."

Al-Awlaki, a prominent figure in al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula said to have direct involvement in plots against the U.S., was killed early Friday in a strike on his convoy carried out by a joint operation of the CIA and the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command, according to counterterrorism officials.

Officials also said that a second American, Samir Khan, who edited an online magazine that spread the word on ways to carry out attacks inside the United States, also was killed in the strike.

Obama spoke Friday at a retirement ceremony at Fort Myer, Va. for Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/09/30/general-us-cleric-killed_8709986.html

It is not clear how one gets on the American Proscription List, nor do I know if there are two separate lists, one for citizens and one for others. The official policy seems to be that proscription only applies to citizens not in the United States, but that is an inference: the President so far as I know has not cited any act under which Americans resident in Nevada are authorized to carry out proscriptions in Oman and other foreign countries. It is widely understood that President Bush sent US armed forces teams to “Kill Bin Laden” shortly after 9-11, but there were no American citizens on the target list they were given. Those were acts of war, and carried out under the war powers.

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