Extrajudicial execution

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Extrajudicial execution is a euphemism for murder.

More specifically, extrajudicial execution is when the state kills someone without proper due process. This can either be by the direct agents of the state (such as the military or police), or indirectly by private citizens whom the state elects not to punish for its actions. (This presupposes that the private citizen does not have an affirmative defense that would hold up in the state's courts of law, such as self-defense.)[1]

Extrajudicial executions are almost universally considered a human rights violation. However, many states continue the practice, either in secret or else justifying it as necessary. The most common justification is that the state is in a state of emergency, and that the killings are necessary because the judiciary is weak, slow, or corrupt. These excuses are disregarded by human rights organizations in almost all cases.

Extrajudicial executions are most often practiced in countries where the leaders of the state have authoritarian leanings, but the state is not strong enough for the use of formal methods. It also happens when the judiciary so opposes the would-be authoritarians that they will not allow the kinds of executions those in charge want.

On the other hand, "extra-judicial executions" are also common in states where the centralized power is very weak. The closer a state is to ochlocracy, the greater the chances of extrajudicial executions.[2]

Most of the time, the term is used in reference to killings in Latin America, such as the campaign of killings in Chile in the 70s and 80s under Augusto Pinochet, or in the failed states of the world.

[edit] In the United States

It is often forgotten that one of the longest running campaigns of "extrajudicial executions" was that of lynching in the United States. For half a century, it was common place in much of the country for mobs of whites to hang African Americans for merely breaching the social etiquette of the times. Afterwards, none of the participants would be punished in any way (see KKK). Sometimes the participants included local government officials, including law enforcement.

Adding a sense of irony, President Obama has ordered the assassination of four American citizens without due process, including Anwar al-Awlaki and his son Adbulrahman.

[edit] See also

[edit] Footnotes

  1. For example, if I kill you because you hold political belief X, and the government arrests me and tries me, it is not an extrajudicial execution. However, if I kill you because you hold political belief X, and the government ignores it or gives me an "unrelated" reward, it is an extrajudicial execution. Of course, either way, if you kill me instead because I'm attempting to kill you, it is not an extrajudicial execution regardless.
  2. Good examples of this are present-day Iraq and Somalia.
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