When Anakin killed Dooku, he said he shouldn't have done that and it's not the Jedi way, but when they got back to Coruscant, he was praised by Obi-Wan for killing Dooku.
I don't get it. Was it actually a good and moral thing to do? Obi-Wan is a 'by the books' type for Jedi and yet he seems to find it okay. And it seems no one really was bothered by it.
Obi-Wan was unconscious when Anakin killed Dooku (Obi-Wan had been knocked out earlier in the fight), so he didn't see that Anakin executed Dooku. Obi-Wan praised Anakin for his victory over Dooku without realizing how Anakin had killed him.
The only witness to Dooku's execution was Palpatine, so none of the Jedi knew Anakin had executed Dooku. The Jedi thought Anakin had defeated Dooku in armed combat, which is acceptable to the Jedi.
Executing an unarmed man like Anakin did, however, is not the Jedi way, good, or moral. Palpatine (secretly a Sith Lord) encouraged Anakin to do it in order to draw Anakin closer to the dark side. When Anakin admitted that his execution of Dooku was not the "Jedi way", Palpatine replied:
It is only natural. He cut off your arm, and you wanted revenge. It wasn't the first time, Anakin. Remember what you told me about your mother and the Sand People.
This was another step in Anakin's journey to the dark side.
As mentioned, Dooku had been disarmed and executed instead of killed in combat, however he was still a threat due to his force powers and the fact Anakin was alone with an important hostage and his unconscious master in an enemy ship.
It seems similar to this thread in terms of the situation Anakin was in.
Is it "the Jedi way" to kill a defenseless being if they pose a sufficient threat?
