Samuel Rutherford
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Samuel Rutherford (1601-1661) was a Scottish Puritan minister who defended the doctrine of grace. He was an advocate of limited government at a time when there was a struggle between the British Parliament and the king for power.
He published "Lex, Rex" ("The Law, the King") to argue for limitations on a divine right of kings.[1] This idea became a foundation for Rule of Law in Anglo-American jurisprudence.
When power was restored to the king around 1660, Rutherford was charged with treason, which is punishable by death. He refused to respond to a summons and died of natural causes soon afterward.