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.

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 less objectionable 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.

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. Talk 12:18, 24 January 2008 (UTC) This needs to be cited properly to go back in. One such citation is the book "Don't know much about History" the american revolution chapters, the Geneva Convention (uniforms), the testimony of US Service men in the Nurenberg trials (uniforms and use of ruse by armies in WWII), etc. Can someone with more time clean this up and cite it properly. The LEGAL nature of Summary execution is what we are trying to stress here, as this is NOT murder in many circumstances. -->