In Act 3, Scene I, Prince Escalus decrees Romeo's banishment, unknowingly setting the scene for the deaths to follow.
From the start of the play, the feud between the Montagues and the Capulets has erupted. The fray in Act 1, Scene 1 causes the prince to declare, "if you ever you disturb our streets again / Your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace." While Romeo was not present at that declaration, it was meant to apply to all Montagues and Capulets.
Thus, given what he has decreed, the prince was well within his bounds to kill Romeo after he discovered that Romeo slew Tybalt. Instead, the prince decrees that Romeo is banished from Verona and that, if he returns, "that hour is his last." (Act 3, Scene 1). Thus, the prince states that he will kill Romeo, should he ever attempt to return to Verona.
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