Category talk:American executions

Executions by the United States
There are 4 subcategories in this category named "xxxx executions by the United States" (Category:18th century executions by the United States, Category:19th century executions by the United States, Category:20th century executions by the United States, and Category:21st century executions by the United States). What exactly makes something an "execution by the United States"? I've seen a few articles that had the "xxxx executions by the United States" category that were about sailors (for instance Samuel Cromwell and Elisha Small) who were executed for (plotting) mutiny WITHOUT court-martial. Does that qualify as an execution by the United States? If it's without court-martial, it might be categorised as a lynching (Category: Extrajudicial killings) instead... wjmt (talk) 01:45, 29 November 2007 (UTC)