When is assassination justified?

Is it ever justified? We know that most people in Britain would bring back the death penalty for truly heinous crimes where there is no doubt about guilt. We also know that official justicial processes can be incedibly long and ineffectual, and that the wealthy and powerful can tie the whole system in knots to their advantage. We know that many evil people will never be brought to justice and they'll get clean away with it. And we know that truly evil and violent organisations and individuals have absolutely no compunction about assassinating (murdering) anyone if it suits their purpose. Today, legal killing can only be undertaken in direct defence of your own life or the lives of others where there is real threat. My own view is that this CAN be extended to include groups and individuals who proclaim or carry out violent death, where it can be publicly shown that the threat is imminent or has already been carried out, and where the perpetrators cannot be brought to justice in reasonable time. I say it CAN be extended, but should it? I honestly don't know.
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