Our country's judicial system and rules by which American citizens are detained, prosecuted, and punished is well established over hundreds of years.
As citizens we are legally guaranteed the right to due process of law under the 5th amendment of the Constitution.
The recent targeted killing of American citizen Anwar al-Awlaki, as despicable a person as he may have been, was illegal and reprehensible to our national ideals. He was executed with no charges filed and no proof of guilt presented and vetted in any court of law.
This killing sets a dangerous precedent for the assassination of any American citizen at the government's behest, with no need to provide any evidence, or allow any normal process of law to occur. This policy needs to be put to a quick end.