Governor initially permits means of execution (7)
I believe the answer is:
gallows
'of execution' is the definition.
'gallows' can be an answer for 'execution' (thesaurus). I'm not certain of the 'of' bit.
'governor initially permits' is the wordplay.
'initially' suggests taking the first letters.
'permits' becomes 'allows' ('allow' can be a synonym of 'permit').
The first letter of 'governor' is 'g'.
'g'+'allows'='GALLOWS'
'means' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for gallows that I've seen before include "Here one may end" , "tree" , "suspender" , "Place of execution" , "Gibbet" .)