teribus I have to disagree. If airlines allow armed marshalls on board planes with instructions to kill in the event of a 'possible' threat, then I think the security check in procedures should be such that 'mistakes' can't be allowed to happen.

Killing an unarmed man because security isn't tight enough to deter passengers carrying bombs on to planes is wrong. They should be spending their resources on tightening up security before the passengers board. Not employing trained professionals to kill.

If it means emptying hand luggage onto the floor and sifting through it bit by bit then do it. If it means issuing passengers with see though plastic bags to carry their belongings then do it. If it means limiting hand luggage to what can fit in a ten inch square transparent plastic box then do it. If it means check in takes another 15 minutes for each passenger then do it.

It is early days, but not one passenger has yet confirmed the word "bomb" was uttered. If we are hearing passengers saying that they did not hear that, why are we also not hearing from passengers who did hear it? Could it be because it was never said?

If the air marshalls did have confidence in the check in security procedures that man would still be alive. They would have known that he was unarmed and restrained him without killing him. Some people will cause disturbances on planes. Some people will act in a bizarre fashion due to mental illness. But they don't deserve to be killed because of doubt, when that doubt could be removed by rechanneling resources in such a way that doubt is not an option.