Summary execution of NVA spy during the Vietnam War. Photo: Eddie Adams

A summary execution is a type of extrajudicial punishment in which an accused or reported suspect of criminal activity is killed, often at the time and place of their being discovered. Summary executions may be a tactic employed by parties involved in guerrilla warfare and counterinsurgency tactics. Image File history File links Nguyen. ... Image File history File links Nguyen. ... 40th anniversary of Vietnam Peoples Army, commemorated on 1984 Vietnam postage stamp block The Vietnam Peoples Army (VPA) is official name for the armed forces of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. ... Spy and Secret agent redirect here. ... Combatants Republic of Vietnam United States Republic of Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand The Philippines National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam Democratic Republic of Vietnam People’s Republic of China Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea Strength US 1,000,000 South Korea 300,000 Australia 48,000... General Nguyen Ngoc Loan executing Viet Cong Captain Nguyen Van Lem: Eddie Adams Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph Eddie Adams (June 12, 1933 – September 19, 2004) was an American photographer noted for portraits of celebrities and politicians and as a photojournalist having covered 13 wars. ... Extrajudicial punishment is physical punishment without the permission of a court or legal authority, generally carried out by a state apparatus needing to rid itself of a dangerously disruptive influence. ... Look up killing in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Look up guerrilla in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Counter-insurgency is the combatting of insurgency, by the government (or allies) of the territory in which the insurgency takes place. ...

Because some summary executions occur without any meaningful inquiry or investigation, they are often considered illegal, and therefore acts of murder. They may, in rare cases, be more acceptable under extreme circumstances, such as in a war zone, or a similar context of profound instability where the criminal justice system is non-functioning, or otherwise too overwhelmed to deal with a widescale breakdown in government. Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... A detective is an officer of the police who performs criminal or administrative investigations, in some police departments, the lowest rank among such investigators (above the lowest rank of officers and below sergeants), a civilian licensed to investigate information not readily available in public records (a private investigator, also called... Look up war in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Criminal law (also known as penal law) is the body of law that punishes criminals for committing offences against the state. ...

Summary executions typically occur outdoors; bringing the accused to an office or lockup is generally a prelude to an inquest or trial. They are often carried out expediently by shooting, hanging, stabbing, and stoning, among other methods. Poisoning, electrocution, and other methods requiring controlled conditions would be impractical. Look up trial in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... World War I firing squad Execution by shooting is a form of capital punishment whereby an executed person is shot by a firearm or firearms. ... // This page is about death by hanging. ... Stoning, or lapidation, refers to a judicial or quasi-judicial execution method carried out by an organized group throwing stones or rocks. ... The skull and crossbones symbol traditionally used to label a poisonous substance. ... The first electric chair, which was used to execute William Kemmler in 1890 The electric chair is an execution method in which the person being killed is strapped to a chair and electrocuted through electrodes placed on the body. ...

See also

• Torture
• Lynching