(ה) וְאַ֨ךְ אֶת־דִּמְכֶ֤ם לְנַפְשֹֽׁתֵיכֶם֙ אֶדְרֹ֔שׁ מִיַּ֥ד כָּל־חַיָּ֖ה אֶדְרְשֶׁ֑נּוּ וּמִיַּ֣ד הָֽאָדָ֗ם מִיַּד֙ אִ֣ישׁ אָחִ֔יו אֶדְרֹ֖שׁ אֶת־נֶ֥פֶשׁ הָֽאָדָֽם׃ (ו) שֹׁפֵךְ֙ דַּ֣ם הָֽאָדָ֔ם בָּֽאָדָ֖ם דָּמ֣וֹ יִשָּׁפֵ֑ךְ כִּ֚י בְּצֶ֣לֶם אֱ-לֹקִ֔ים עָשָׂ֖ה אֶת־הָאָדָֽם׃
(5) But for your own life-blood I will require a reckoning: I will require it of every beast; of man, too, will I require a reckoning for human life, of every man for that of his fellow man! (6) Whoever sheds the blood of man, By man shall his blood be shed; For in His image Did God make man.
(ו) וְהַנָּבִ֣יא הַה֡וּא א֣וֹ חֹלֵם֩ הַחֲל֨וֹם הַה֜וּא יוּמָ֗ת כִּ֣י דִבֶּר־סָ֠רָה עַל־ה' אֱלֹֽקֵיכֶ֜ם הַמּוֹצִ֥יא אֶתְכֶ֣ם ׀ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֗יִם וְהַפֹּֽדְךָ֙ מִבֵּ֣ית עֲבָדִ֔ים לְהַדִּֽיחֲךָ֙ מִן־הַדֶּ֔רֶךְ אֲשֶׁ֧ר צִוְּךָ֛ ה' אֱלֹקֶ֖יךָ לָלֶ֣כֶת בָּ֑הּ וּבִֽעַרְתָּ֥ הָרָ֖ע מִקִּרְבֶּֽךָ׃
(6) As for that prophet or dream-diviner, they shall be put to death; for they urged disloyalty to the LORD your God—who freed you from the land of Egypt and who redeemed you from the house of bondage—to make you stray from the path that the LORD your God commanded you to follow. Thus you will sweep out evil from your midst.
Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5
How do we press the witnesses in a capital case? We bring them in [to the court's chambers] and press them: "Perhaps what you say [isn't eyewitness testimony] is but your own assessment, or from rumors, or your witnessing an actual witness testify, or your reporting what a trustworthy said. Or perhaps you were unaware that by the end we'd interrogate you, with examination and inquiry. Know that capital cases are not like monetary ones. In monetary cases, [a false witness] can return the money and achieve atonement. But in capital cases, the blood of [the victim [and all his future offspring hang upon you until the end of time. For thus we find in regard to Cain, who killed his brother, "The bloods of your brother scream out!" (Genesis 4:10) - the verse does not say blood of your brother, but bloods of your brother, because it was his blood and also the blood of his future offspring [screaming out]! [Another explanation of the verse: for his blood was splattered over the trees and rocks [there was more than one pool of blood]. [The judges' speech continues] "It was for this reason that man was first created as one person [Adam], to teach you that anyone who destroys a life is considered by Scripture to have destroyed an entire world; and anyone who saves a life is as if he saved an entire world." And also, to promote peace among the creations, that no man would say to his friend, "My ancestors are greater than yours." And also, so that heretics will not say, "there are many rulers up in Heaven." And also, to express the grandeur of The Holy One [blessed be He]: For a man strikes many coins from the same die, and all the coins are alike. But the King, the King of Kings, The Holy One [blessed be He] strikes every man from the die of the First Man, and yet no man is quite like his friend. Therefore, every person must say, “For my sake the world was created.” [The judges' speech continues:] "Maybe you [the witnesses] will now say, 'What do we need this, and all this anxiety for [let's not come forward even with true testimony]!' But Scripture has already spoken: "If he be a witness - having seen or known - if he does not express it, he shall bear his sin." (Lev. 5:1) Maybe you will now say, 'What do we need this, to be responsible for another man's death?' But Scripture has already spoken: "When the wicked are destroyed there is rejoicing." (Prov. 11:10)"
(א) הָיוּ בוֹדְקִין אוֹתָן בְּשֶׁבַע חֲקִירוֹת, בְּאֵיזֶה שָׁבוּעַ, בְּאֵיזוֹ שָׁנָה, בְּאֵיזֶה חֹדֶשׁ, בְּכַמָּה בַחֹדֶשׁ, בְּאֵיזֶה יוֹם, בְּאֵיזוֹ שָׁעָה, בְּאֵיזֶה מָקוֹם. רַבִּי יוֹסֵי אוֹמֵר בְּאֵיזֶה יוֹם, בְּאֵיזוֹ שָׁעָה, בְּאֵיזֶה מָקוֹם. מַכִּירִין אַתֶּם אוֹתוֹ. הִתְרֵיתֶם בּוֹ. הָעוֹבֵד עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה, אֶת מִי עָבַד, וּבַמֶּה עָבָד:
(1) They would examine [the witnesses] with seven inquiries: "In which week?", "In which year?", "In which month?", "On which day of the month?", "On which day [of the week]?", "At which hour?", and, "In which place?". Rabbi Yose says: "On which day?", "At which hour?", "In which place?", "Do you recognize him?", "Did you warn him?". For one who worships idols: Whom [i.e. which idol] did he worship?", "How did he worship it?".
(ב) כָּל הַמַּרְבֶּה בִבְדִיקוֹת, הֲרֵי זֶה מְשֻׁבָּח. מַעֲשֶׂה וּבָדַק בֶּן זַכַּאי בְּעֻקְצֵי תְאֵנִים. וּמַה בֵּין חֲקִירוֹת לִבְדִיקוֹת. חֲקִירוֹת, אֶחָד אוֹמֵר אֵינִי יוֹדֵעַ, עֵדוּתָן בְּטֵלָה. בְּדִיקוֹת, אֶחָד אוֹמֵר אֵינִי יוֹדֵעַ, וַאֲפִלּוּ שְׁנַיִם אוֹמְרִים אֵין אָנוּ יוֹדְעִין, עֵדוּתָן קַיָּמֶת. אֶחָד חֲקִירוֹת וְאֶחָד בְּדִיקוֹת, בִּזְמַן שֶׁמַּכְחִישִׁין זֶה אֶת זֶה, עֵדוּתָן בְּטֵלָה:
(2) The more one examines [the witnesses], the more he is praiseworthy. Once, Ben Zakkai examined regarding the stalks of figs. What is the difference between inquiries and examinations? [If in response to] inquiries one [witness] says, "I do not know," their testimony is nullified. [If in response to] examinations one [witness] says, "I do not know," and even if two say, "We do not know," their testimony stands. Both [with respect to] inquiries and examinations, when [the two witnesses' responses] contradict one another, their testimony is nullified.
Mishna Sanhedrin 6: 4
The stoning area's height was that of two men. One of the witnesses pushes him on his loins. If he is turned on his heart, they turn him [over,] on his loins. If he dies from this, [the court] has discharged [its obligation]. If not, the second [witness] picks up the stone and puts it on his heart. If he dies from this, [the court] has discharged [its obligation]. If not, he is pelted with stones by all of Israel, as it says, (Deuteronomy 17:7) "The hand of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people." All who are stoned are hanged, according to Rabbi Eliezer. But the Sages say, the only [offenders] who are hanged are the blasphemer and the idolator. A man is hanged with his face toward the people, and a woman with her face toward the gallows, according to Rabbi Eliezer. But the Sages say, a man is hanged, but a woman is not hanged. Rabbi Eliezer said to them, Did Shimon ben Shetach not hang women in Ashkelon? They said to him, he hanged eighty women, and we do not [even] judge two [capital cases] in one day! How do they hang him? They sink the beam into the ground, and [a piece of] wood protrudes from it, and one places his hands together, and hangs him. Rabbi Yose says, the beam leans on a wall, and they hang him the way that butchers do. And then they undo him [from the gallows] immediately. If he stayed there overnight, [the court] violates a negative commandment on his account, as it says, (Deuteronomy 21:23), "His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt surely bury him the same day; for he that is hanged is a reproach unto God...." That is to say: why has he been hanged? Because he 'blessed' [i.e. cursed] God, and God's name has become desecrated.
(י) מִי שֶׁנִּגְמַר דִּינוֹ וּבָרַח וּבָא לִפְנֵי אוֹתוֹ בֵית דִּין, אֵין סוֹתְרִים אֶת דִּינוֹ. כָּל מָקוֹם שֶׁיַּעַמְדוּ שְׁנַיִם וְיֹאמְרוּ, מְעִידִין אָנוּ בְאִישׁ פְּלוֹנִי שֶׁנִּגְמַר דִּינוֹ בְּבֵית דִּינוֹ שֶׁל פְּלוֹנִי, וּפְלוֹנִי וּפְלוֹנִי עֵדָיו, הֲרֵי זֶה יֵהָרֵג. סַנְהֶדְרִין נוֹהֶגֶת בָּאָרֶץ וּבְחוּצָה לָאָרֶץ. סַנְהֶדְרִין הַהוֹרֶגֶת אֶחָד בְּשָׁבוּעַ נִקְרֵאת חָבְלָנִית. רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן עֲזַרְיָה אוֹמֵר, אֶחָד לְשִׁבְעִים שָׁנָה. רַבִּי טַרְפוֹן וְרַבִּי עֲקִיבָא אוֹמְרִים, אִלּוּ הָיִינוּ בַסַּנְהֶדְרִין לֹא נֶהֱרַג אָדָם מֵעוֹלָם. רַבָּן שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן גַּמְלִיאֵל אוֹמֵר, אַף הֵן מַרְבִּין שׁוֹפְכֵי דָמִים בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל:
(10) If someone whose judgement was final [sentenced to death], and ran away but came back to the same Beit Din, we do not re-evaluate his old judgment. Any time that two witnesses came and say, "We testify that this person had a judgement passed against him in a certain court," so and so were the witnesses, we execute him [the defendant on this testimony]. A Sanhedrin [highest court, charged with deciding cases and appeals that had national significance. It was comprised of 71 scholars who had received the full traditional rabbinical ordination, and its decisions fixed Jewish practice for subsequent generations]that would execute somebody once in seven years would be considered destructive. Rabbi Elazar Ben Azariah says: "Once in seventy years." Rabbi Tarfon and Rabbi Akiva said: "If we were on the Sanhedrin , nobody would have ever been executed." Rabban Shim'on Ben Gamliel said: "They too would have increased violence in Israel."
רבי טרפון ורבי עקיבא אומרים אילו היינו וכו': היכי הוו עבדי רבי יוחנן ורבי אלעזר דאמרי תרוייהו ראיתם טריפה הרג שלם הרג אמר רב אשי אם תמצא לומר שלם הוה דלמא במקום סייף נקב הוה בבועל את הערוה...
How could they [being judges] give effect to that [policy]? Both R. Johanan and R. Eleazar suggested that the witnesses might be plied with [intimate] questions such as, ‘Did you take note whether the victim was [perchance] suffering from some fatal affection or was he perfectly healthy?’ R. Ashi [enlarging on this] said: And should the reply be, ‘Perfectly healthy’, they might further be embarrassed by asking, ‘Maybe the sword only severed an internal lesion?’
Sanhedrin 37b
Our Rabbis taught: What is meant by BASED ON CONJECTURE? — He [the judge] says to them: Perhaps ye saw him running after his fellow into a ruin, ye pursued him, and found him sword in hand with blood dripping from it, whilst the murdered man was writhing [in agony]: If this is what ye saw, ye saw nothing.
It has been taught: R. Simeon b. Shatah said: May I never see comfort if I did not see a man pursuing his fellow into a ruin, and when I ran after him and saw him, sword in hand with blood dripping from it, and the murdered man writhing, I exclaimed to him: Wicked man, who slew this man? It is either you or I! But what can I do, since thy blood [i.e., life] does not rest in my hands, for it is written in the Torah, At the mouth of two witnesses etc., shall he that is to die be put to death? May he who knows one's thoughts exact vengeance from him who slew his fellow! It is related that before they moved from the place a serpent came and bit him [the murderer] so that he died.
But should this man [have died] through a serpent? Did not R. Joseph say, and so too it was taught in the school of Hezekiah: From the day the Temple was destroyed, although the Sanhedrin was abolished, the four modes of execution were not abolished? They were not abolished, [you say,] but surely they were! — But the law of the four modes of execution was not abolished: He who is worthy of stoning either falls from the roof, or is trampled to death by a wild beast; he who merits burning either falls into the fire or is bitten by a serpent; he who is worthy of decapitation is either delivered to the [gentile] Government or brigands attack him; he who is worthy of strangulation is either drowned in a river or dies of suffocation?
Sanhedrin 41a
R. Hisda said: If one testified that he [the accused] slew him with a sword, and another, that he slew him with a dagger, it [the evidence] is inadmissible. If one says, His clothes were black, and the other, His clothes were white; the evidence is admissible.
An objection is raised: ‘Certain’ implies that the evidence must be certain; if one witness says, He slew him with a sword, and the other says, With a dagger; or if one says, His clothes were black, and the other, They were white, the evidence is not ‘certain’? — R. Hisda interpreted this as referring to the [colour of] the cloth with which he strangled him, which comes under the same category as sword or dagger.
Come and hear! If the one says that his sandals were black, and the other, that they were white, the evidence is not certain’! — There too the meaning is, that he kicked him with his sandal and killed him.
Come and hear! IT ONCE HAPPENED THAT BEN ZAKKAI CROSS-EXAMINED [THE WITNESSES] AS TO THE STALKS OF THE FIGS. — Rami b. Hama replied: The meaning is, that a man cut off a fig on the Sabbath, for which he was to be put to death. But has it not been taught: They said to him, ‘He killed him beneath a fig-tree’? — But, said Rami b. Hama: It was a case where he [the accused] pierced his victim with the sharp end of a fig branch.
Come and hear! He questioned [the witnesses]: Were the stalks of this fig tree thin or thick? And were the figs [themselves] black or white?
(ו) הַגּוֹנֵב כְּלֵי שָׁרֵת מִן הַמִּקְדָּשׁ וְהַמְקַלֵּל בְּקוֹסֵם וְהַבּוֹעֵל אֲרַמִּית אֵין בֵּית דִּין נִזְקָקִין לָהֶן. אֶלָּא הַקַּנָּאִין פּוֹגְעִין בָּהֶן וְכָל שֶׁהוֹרְגָן זָכָה. וְכֵן כֹּהֵן שֶׁשִּׁמֵּשׁ בְּטֻמְאָה לֹא הָיוּ אֶחָיו הַכֹּהֲנִים מְבִיאִין אוֹתוֹ לְבֵית דִּין אֶלָּא פִּרְחֵי כְּהֻנָּה הָיוּ מוֹצִיאִין אוֹתוֹ חוּץ לָעֲזָרָה וּפוֹצְעִין אֶת מֹחוֹ בִּגְזִירִין. גְּזֵרַת הַכָּתוּב הִיא שֶׁאֵין מְמִיתִין בֵּית דִּין וְלֹא מַלְקִין אֶת הָאָדָם בְּהוֹדָאַת פִּיו אֶלָּא עַל פִּי שְׁנַיִם עֵדִים. וְזֶה שֶׁהָרַג יְהוֹשֻׁעַ עָכָן וְדָוִד לְגֵר עֲמָלֵקִי בְּהוֹדָאַת פִּיהֶם הוֹרָאַת שָׁעָה הָיְתָה אוֹ דִּין מַלְכוּת הָיָה. אֲבָל הַסַּנְהֶדְרִין אֵין מְמִיתִין וְלֹא מַלְקִין הַמּוֹדֶה בַּעֲבֵרָה שֶׁמָּא נִטְרְפָה דַּעְתּוֹ בְּדָבָר זֶה. שֶׁמָּא מִן הָעֲמֵלִין מָרֵי נֶפֶשׁ הוּא הַמְחַכִּים לָמוּת שֶׁתּוֹקְעִין הַחֲרָבוֹת בְּבִטְנָם וּמַשְׁלִיכִין עַצְמָן מֵעַל הַגַּגּוֹת שֶׁמָּא כָּךְ זֶה יָבוֹא וְיֹאמַר דָּבָר שֶׁלֹּא עָשָׂה כְּדֵי שֶׁיֵּהָרֵג וּכְלָלוֹ שֶׁל דָּבָר גְּזֵרַת מֶלֶךְ הִיא:
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It is a Scriptural decree that the court does not execute a person or have him lashed because of his own admission. |
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Instead, the punishments are given on the basis of the testimony of two witnesses. |
(ד) וּמֻזְהָרִין בֵּית דִּין שֶׁלֹּא לִקַּח כֹּפֶר מִן הָרוֹצֵחַ. וַאֲפִלּוּ נָתַן כָּל מָמוֹן שֶׁבָּעוֹלָם וַאֲפִלּוּ רָצָה גּוֹאֵל הַדָּם לְפָטְרוֹ. שֶׁאֵין נַפְשׁוֹ שֶׁל זֶה הַנֶּהֱרָג קִנְיַן גּוֹאֵל הַדָּם אֶלָּא קִנְיַן הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (במדבר לה-לא) "וְלֹא תִקְחוּ כֹפֶר לְנֶפֶשׁ רֹצֵחַ". וְאֵין לְךָ דָּבָר שֶׁהִקְפִּידָה תּוֹרָה עָלָיו כִּשְׁפִיכוּת דָּמִים שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (במדבר לה-לג) "וְלֹא תַחֲנִיפוּ אֶת הָאָרֶץ" וְגוֹ'. (במדבר לה-לג) "כִּי הַדָּם הוּא יַחֲנִיף אֶת הָאָרֶץ" וְגוֹ':
(4) And the court is warned not to take a ransom from the murderer, even if they give all of the money in the world, and even if the redeemer of blood wishes to exempt them. For the life of this person who was killed is not the possession of the redeemer of blood but rather the possession of the Holy One Blessed be He as it says, "Do not take a ransom for the life of a murderer." And there is nothing that the Torah is more exacting about than bloodshed as it says, "You shall not pollute the land..."(BeMidbar 35:33) "...for blood pollutes the land..."
Maimonides, Sefer ha-Mitzvot (Book of the Commandments): Comment on Negative Commandment 290
It is better and more satisfactory to acquit a thousand guilty persons than to put a single innocent one to death.
(ח) הַהוֹרֵג נְפָשׁוֹת וְלֹא הָיוּ עֵדִים רוֹאִין אוֹתוֹ כְּאַחַת אֶלָּא רָאָהוּ הָאֶחָד אַחַר הָאֶחָד אוֹ שֶׁהָרַג בִּפְנֵי שְׁנֵי עֵדִים בְּלֹא הַתְרָאָה אוֹ שֶׁהֻכְחֲשׁוּ הָעֵדִים בִּבְדִיקוֹת וְלֹא הֻכְחֲשׁוּ בַּחֲקִירוֹת. כָּל אֵלּוּ הָרַצְחָנִים כּוֹנְסִין אוֹתָן לְכִפָּה וּמַאֲכִילִין אוֹתָן לֶחֶם צַר וּמַיִם לַחַץ עַד שֶׁיָּצֵרוּ מֵעֵיהֶן וְאַחַר כָּךְ מַאֲכִילִין אוֹתָן שְׂעוֹרִים עַד שֶׁתִּבָּקַע כְּרֵסָם מִכֹּבֶד הַחלִי:
(ט) וְאֵין עוֹשִׂין דָּבָר זֶה לִשְׁאָר מְחֻיְּבֵי מִיתַת בֵּית דִּין אֲבָל אִם נִתְחַיֵּב מִיתָה מְמִיתִין אוֹתוֹ וְאִם אֵינוֹ חַיָּב מִיתָה פּוֹטְרִין אוֹתוֹ. שֶׁאַף עַל פִּי שֶׁיֵּשׁ עֲוֹנוֹת חֲמוּרִין מִשְּׁפִיכוּת דָּמִים אֵין בָּהֶן הַשְׁחָתַת יִשּׁוּבוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם כִּשְׁפִיכוּת דָּמִים. אֲפִלּוּ עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה וְאֵין צָרִיךְ לוֹמַר עֲרָיוֹת אוֹ חִלּוּל שַׁבָּת אֵינָן כִּשְׁפִיכוּת דָּמִים. שֶׁאֵלּוּ עֲוֹנוֹת הֵן מֵעֲבֵרוֹת שֶׁבֵּין אָדָם לַמָּקוֹם אֲבָל שְׁפִיכוּת דָּמִים מֵעֲבֵרוֹת שֶׁבֵּינוֹ לְבֵין חֲבֵרוֹ. וְכָל מִי שֶׁיֵּשׁ בְּיָדוֹ עָוֹן זֶה הֲרֵי הוּא רָשָׁע גָּמוּר וְאֵין כָּל הַמִּצְוֹת שֶׁעָשָׂה כָּל יָמָיו שְׁקוּלִין כְּנֶגֶד עָוֹן זֶה וְלֹא יַצִּילוּהוּ מִן הַדִּין שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (משלי כח-יז) "אָדָם עָשֻׁק בְּדַם נָפֶשׁ" וְגוֹ'...
(8) One who takes a life and the witnesses did not see them as one but rather, they saw them from one behind the other, or they killed before witnesses without being warned, or the witnesses contradict one another in trivial details but not in the essentials. All of these murderer are placed in an enclosed space and force fed dry bread and water until their guts hurt and then they feed them barley until their stomachs rupture from the weight of the sickness.
(9) One does not do this matter in the remainder of instances where the death penalty can be imposed by the court, but if one is liable for execution, they should execute him and if one is not liable for execution they should free him. That even if there transgressions that are weightier than the spilling of blood, they are not as corrupting to society as the spilling of blood. Even idolatry and it does not need to be said, forbidden sexual relations or the desecration of the Sabbath are not like the spilling of blood. That these transgressions are offenses between a person and God, but the spilling of blood is an offense between people. And everyone who has in his hand this sin, see, he is completely evil and all the commandments that one has done in his lifetime cannot balance against this sin and will not save him from judgment. As it is said, "A person weighed down with the blood of a life, etc, (Proverbs 28:17)...
Albert Camus, “Reflections on the Guillotine,” Resistance, Rebellion, and Death, translated by Justin O’Brien, The Modern Library, New York, 1963. http://www.deakinphilosophicalsociety.com/texts/camus/reflections.pdf
When the extreme penalty simply causes vomiting on the part of the respectable citizen it is supposed to protect, how can anyone maintain that it is likely, as it ought to be, to bring more peace and order into the community? Rather, it is obviously no less repulsive than the crime, and this new murder, far from making amends for the harm done to the social body, adds a new blot to the first one...
Rashba- New Responsa of Rashba, From Manuscript, #345. (Spain13th C.)
The Torah’s procedural rules apply only to the Sanhedrin. But as for the laws of the king, we pay no attention to all that. Royal law is determined exclusively by knowledge of the facts. And therefore one can be executed by royal law based on testimony by relatives or the accused’s confession, without any formal warning, and not by a court of 23 ... If one insists upon following Torah law, as in the process of the Sanhedrin, the world would become desolate, and the murderers and their henchmen would proliferate.
שו"ת זכרון יהודה, סי' נ"ח
תשובת שאלה. המשכילים רבי פעלים הזקנים הנכבדים אשר בקורטובה יצ"ו... הגיעני כתבכם בענין ההכאות שהכה שאול ליצחק...ובקשתם ממני שאכתוב לכם מה יראה לי שיהי' עונשו ואם יש לכם לחפש אם יתאמתו דברי שאול אשר בכתבו על העדים שהעידו עליו ואם יתאמתו הדברים אם יתבטל עדותם בשביל כך ואני איני כדאי שאתם שולחים לי אבל למלאות מצותכם לא אוכל להשיב פניכם דבר ידוע הוא כי מן היום אשר גלתה סנהדרין מלשכת הגזית בטלו דיני נפשות מישראל וכל מה שהדין עתה הוא לגדור פרצת הדור וברוך יקוק אשר נתן כזאת בלב מלכי הארץ הזאת לתת כח לישראל לדון ולבער עושי רשעה לולי זה לא הי' קיום לישראל בארץ הזאת וגם כמה אנשים מישראל ימלטו דייני ישראל שהיו נהרגין ע"י שופטי ע"א והדינין שאנו דנים בדיני' נפשות אינם כולם ע"פ התורה לכן אכתוב לכם מה שיראה לי מקו היושר לפי מה שראיתי דנין בעיר הזאת תחילת הענין יש לנו לחפש אם יתאמתו דברי שאול בענין העדים ואין לכם להטיל חרם כל מי שיודע על אחד מן העדים שנחשד בשום עבירה שיבוא ויעיד... אבל אם יבא לפניכם אנשים ידועים שיעידו על שום א' מהם תטילו חרם בפניהם שיעידו האמת ותקבלו עדותם ואם יצא על שום א' מהם שעבר על לאו מלאוי התורה הידועים הוא פסול לעדות ואל תביטו אל עדותו ואם עבר על דבר שהוא נפסל בו מדרבנן הוא פסול לעדות אבל העדות שהעיד הוא עדות כי צריך שיכריזו עליו בב"ד קודם העדות וכל מה שהעיד קודם ההכרזה אין לפסול אותו ועתה נוהגין לקבל עדות כל אדם כל זמן שלא נפסל באחד מן הדרכים הפוסלים אותו...ועל זה הדרך יתברר לכם איזה עדות יש לכם להכשיר ואשר שאלתם מה יראה לי שהרבה מאוד לפשוע להכות ליהודי מכת אכזרי ובשביל שמהפשוטים שדבר מפורסם הוא שהכהו ההכאה שמת ממנה ההרוג והוא הודה בדבר וגם בריחתו הוא עדות עליו וגם הוציא הוצאות על רפואתו ודקדקתי בעדות ומצאתי כי משה פישיליש ואברהם חלול העידו שראו שהכהו המכה שמת ממנה ויוסף בן עביד ויצחק בן יום טוב העיד שראה אותם מתקוטטים והלכו להם וחזרו עוד וראו ליצחק מוטל בארץ מוכה בראשו והדם שותת ושאר עדות אין בהם עדות מספיק לענין שעת ההכאה... ובענין עונש שאול יראה לי שראוי להיות על א' מחמש דרכים לפי מה שרגילין עתה לדון בדיני נפשות אם תתקיים עדות משה ואברהם שראוי להרג ואם תתקיים עדות אחד מהם עם עדות יוסף או יצחק שראוי לחתוך שתי ידיו ואם תתקיים עדות א' מהם ותתבטל עדות יוסף ויצחק שראוי לחתוך ידו הימנית בעדות משה או אברהם לבד עם מה שנתפרסם עליו שהוא הכהו ההכאה שמת ממנה ואם תתבטל עדות משה ואברהם ותתקיים עדות יוסף ויצחק שראוי לחתוך ידו השמאלית בעדות אחד מהם וגם מה שנתפרסם עליו שהכהו ואם יתבטלו כל העדיות שראוי לחייבו גלות על שנתפרסם עליו שהוא הרגו לקיים מה שנאמר ובערת הרע מקרבך..
Responsa Zichron Yehudah, ch. 58 (Hungary 19th Century)
In answer to a question: To the enlightened and accomplished elders of Cordova may it's Maker should guard and have mercy on it...Your letter reached me regarding the blows that Saul struck Isaac...you asked me to write you what it seems to me should be his punishment and whether you are required to confirm Saul's claims that he wrote about the witnesses who testified about him. And if his claims are confirmed, should their testimony be discounted because of this. And I am not worthy that you should send for me, but to fulfill your command, I cannot turn you away. It is well known that from the day that the Sanhedrin was exiled from the Hewed Stone Chamber [Attached to the Temple where the High Court of 71 sat] the adjudication of capital crimes has been eliminated from Israel. And all of the judgments that are ruled now are to close up the outbreaks in the generation. And blessed is God who put it in the heart of the kings of this country to give Israel the power to judge and to eliminate evil doers. If not for this, there would be no existence for Israel in this country. And also many people of Israel survived the judges of Israel who would have been killed by the judges of the nations of the world. And the judgments that we judge in capital cases are not all according to the Torah. Therefore, I will write to you what appears to me from my integrity according to how I have seen judged in this city. First of all, we must confirm the claims of Saul against his witnesses. And you do not need to put a Cherem (ban) on people who know something about the witnesses, e.g. that they are suspected of some sin, that they should come and testify...However, if people who are known come before you who testify on any one of them (the witnesses) that they violated a negative commandment from the Torah, that witness is disqualified and you should disregard their testimony. And if they violated something that disqualifies them according to the Rabbis, they are disqualified, but their testimony that they have already given still counts...And today it is our custom to accept the testimony of all people as long as they have not been disqualified by the things that disqualify one (from the Torah)...And this should clarify for you which testimony you can accept. And what you asked what I think about the fact that he terribly sinful to strike a Jew such cruel blow, and it is well known that he struck the blow that killed the victim. And he himself admitted it, and he also fed which is testimony on him, and he also paid for his medical care. I was very precise with the testimony and I found that Moses Fishilish and Abraham Chalul testified that they saw that [Saul] struck the blow that he died from. But Joseph ben Avid and Isaac ben Yom Tov testified that they some them fighting and they went away and returned and saw that Isaac was laid out on the ground, wounded in his head, and the blood was flowing... And with regard to the punishment of Saul, it appears to me that it is appropriate that he should have one of five possibilities according to how we are used to judging capital crimes. If the testimony of Moses and Abraham is confirmed, he should be put to death. And if the testimony of only one of them is confirmed along with the testimony of Joseph or Isaac, he should have both his hands cut off. And if the testimony of one of them (Moses or Abraham) is confirmed but the testimony of Joseph and Isaac is nullified, he should have only his right hand cut off...and if all of the testimony is nullified, he should be exiled because it is well known about him that he killed him, to fulfill what is said, "And you shall remove the evil from your midst."
אגרות משה, ח"מ ח"ב סי' ס"ח
בענין עונש מיתה.
פורים תשמ"א. מעלת כבוד שר המדינה הנכבד והחביב עלינו מאד, יאריך השם יתברך ימיו ושנותיו וממשלתו בטוב ובנעימים.
ראשית הנני להביע רגשותי באהבה וביראת הכבוד לשר המדינה בדבר רצונו לידע דעת התורה שניתנה מהשם יתברך על ידי משה רבנו בהבאור בתורה שבעל פה שנמסר מחכמי דור לחכמי דור עד שנכתבה בגמרא ובפוסקים הרמב"ם והשלחן ערוך ועוד שהיא דעה האמתית, וגם במה שיש לשר המדינה בטחון שאני יודע להשיב האמת והנכון לפי דיני התורה שעל זה יתברך מהשם יתברך בכל.
ועתה אשיב בקצרה, כי בעצם נאמרו בתורה עונשי מיתה לעבירות החמורות מאד כרציחת נפש אדם, ומיני גניבת אדם, ומיני עריות, ועל אחד שעובד עבודה זרה שהוא לשמש ולירח ולעץ ולאבן וכדומה שאז הוא מופקר לעשות כל מה שבלבו ממיני נבלות ואכזריות שבעולם שיבדו הרשעים לטובת עצמם, אבל לא היה זה מצד שנאה לעושי דבר הרע ומצד יראה לקיום העולם דעל זה איתא בגמ' (ב"מ פ"ג ע"ב) יבא בעל הכרם ויכלה את קוציו והלכה כן כדפסק הרמב"ם (ה' חובל פ"ח ה"ט) וכל הפוסקים, אלא הוא שידעו האינשי חומר האיסורים אלו ולא יעברו על זה. ומצד שני, יש הדגשה על חשיבותו של כל נפש, ועוד חשבונות, ולכן נצטוינו שלדון דיני נפשות אינם כשרים אלא על פי סנהדרין שנסמכו לזה ואין סומכין לזה אלא לגדולים ביותר בחכמת התורה וגם גדולים בשאר חכמות, ויהיו ענוים מאד ויראי השם יתברך ושונאי ממון ואוהבי האמת ואהובים לבריות בזה שהם בעלי טובה ונפש שפלה וחברתן טובה ודבורן ומשאן בנחת עם הבריות ולא יהא שום גנאי ולא שם רע עליהם ורחמנים ביותר. ומטעם זה אין מעמידין זקן מופלג בשנים שכבר נשכח ממנו קצת צער גדול בנים ולא מי שאין לו בנים שאולי חסר לו קצת רחמנות ויכעוס על העוברים יותר מדי. ואנשים גדולים וטובים אלו אין יכולים לדון אלא כשהם עשרים ושלשה סנהדרין, ולבד זה צריכין להושיב לפניהן שלש שורות גדולים בתורה מאד אך שעדיין לא הגיעו למדרגת הסנהדרין אבל קרובה להם שהוא שמירה גדולה כדי שלא יחייבו בטעות, דהא כשיהא נדמה לג' השורות שמזכין בטעות משתקין אותו ואין שומעין כלל את דבריו. וכן לא שייך לדון דיני נפשות לחייבו אף מאומדנא היותר גדולה שבעולם אלא דוקא על פי שני עדים כשרים שאינם בכלל נוגעים בדבר, ובטח לא ע"י עדים שמבטיחים לפוטרם מעונש אם יעידו על אחרים, אחרי שמזהירין אותם חומר האיסור דעדות שקר בכלל וחומר איסור רציחת נפש ואיום גדול ביותר, וגם צריך התראה וקבלת התראה וגם שיאמר בפירוש שאף שיודע כל זה הוא עובר, שלכן לא היה נארע למי שיחייבוהו מיתה אלא אחד לכמה שנים, וגם לא אפשר לדון דיני נפשות אלא כשביהמ"ק =כשבית המקדש= היה קיים וישבו סנהדרין של ע"א שהם עוד יותר גדולים בלשכת הגזית בביהמ"ק, שלכן לא דנו דיני נפשות אף במדינות שהיה רשות מהמלכות שידונו היהודים לעצמן בדיני התורה, ומ"מ לא היה נמצא כמעט בכל הדורות רוצחים ביהודים מפני חומר האיסור ומפני מה שנתחנכו ע"י התורה וע"י עונשי התורה להבין חומר האיסור ולא סתם היו מתיראים מהעונש כענין של כל דאלים גבר.
וכל זה הוא כשלא הופקר איסור הרציחה אלא שבשביל איזה תאוה גדולה או איזה מריבה על טענת ממון וכבוד עשה זה, אבל מי שהורג נפשות מחמת שהופקר אצלו איסור הרציחה והוא אכזרי ביותר, וכן כשנתרבו רוצחים ועושי רשעה היו דנין למיגדר מלתא למנוע מעשה רציחה שהוא הצלת המדינה.
והנני חותם בברכה לשר המדינה שינהל המדינה בצדק וביושר וגם במשפט הראוי כל ימיו ועוד יתגדל שמו בכל מדינתנו ארצות הברית.
המברכו, משה פיינשטיין.
Moshe Feinstein, Iggrot Moshe, Choshen Mishpat, vol. 2 ch. 68 USA 20th C.
On Capital Punishment
Purim, 1981. To the High Honorable Governor of this state who is honored and much beloved by us. May God extend your days and your years and your good and pleasant government.
First of all, I'd like to express my feelings with love and honorable awe to the Governor for your desire to know the position of the Torah that was given from God to Moses our Teacher with the interpretation of the Oral Torah that was passed down by the sages of one generation to the sages of the next generation until it was transcribed in the Gemara and in the writings of the legal decisors, the Rambam, and the Shulchan Arukh. And furthermore it is the position of truth. And also that the Governor of the state has confidence that I know how to reply truly and correctly according to the rule of the Torah. And for this may he be blessed of God in all things.
And now I will reply briefly: The Torah reserves capital punishment for those sins which are very serious such as murder, kidnapping, sexually prohibited relations and idolatry. The perpetrator in these cases is unrestrained and is capable of doing whatever disgusting and cruel acts in the world that are in his heart that he thinks are for his benefit. However the death penalty is not administered out of hatred to evildoers or fear for the welfare of society because Bava Metzia (83b) tells us that G‑d will punish transgressors. That in fact is the halacha as poskened by the Rambam (Hilchos Chovel u’Mazik 8:9) as well as all other poskim. So on the one hand the purpose of capital punishment is to let people know the severity of these prohibitions so that they will not transgress them. On the other hand the laws of capital punishment emphasize the importance of each soul and other concerns. Therefore we are commanded that only the Sanhedrin with proper semicha can judge these cases. Only the greatest people in Torah scholarship and other knowledge receives this semicha. In addition to their knowledge they also need to have perfected their character and be very humble as well as G‑d fearing people. They also need to hate money and love the truth as well as wonderful people who are beloved by all…They don’t have any imperfections or bad reputations and they are very merciful. That is why very old people are not appointed judges because they have forgotten the stress of raising children. Also people without children are not appointed because they lack mercy to some degree and they will be too angry at those who have committed sins.
Even these great and good people cannot judge unless they constitute a Sanhedrin of 23 people.However it is not enough there are 23 such people to make a Sanhedrin. They also need to have before them 3 rows of very great Torah scholars who are not yet great enough to be part of the Sanhedrin – but are almost great enough. This is to protect the Sanhedrin from convicting in error. However, when these three rows of scholars think that the Sanhedrin is mistaken in their ruling of innocence, they are told to be silent. Another safeguard against making a mistake is that they do not convict based on circumstantial evidence – no matter how convincing. They only convict a person based on two valid witnesses who have not the slightest bias in the matter... Furthermore the witnesses are warned concerning the severity of the sin of false testimony as well as the seriousness of the sin of murder so that they are very afraid of mistakenly convicting or mistakenly declaring the suspected murderer innocent. Even with all of this the witnesses also have to warn the person against murder and the suspected murderer has to acknowledge the warning by saying that even though he is aware of the seriousness off the crime he is still doing it. As a consequence of all these safeguards, only once in many years would someone be convicted of murder. In addition it was impossible to judge capital cases unless the Temple existed and that the Sanhedrin of 71 of the greatest scholars was in session on the Temple Mount. In fact capital cases were not judged even in those countries where the king gave the Jews permission to judge their own people according to the law of the Torah.
As a consequence of these two factors there were almost no Jewish murderers because of the awareness of the severity of the prohibition of murder and because they were educated by means of the Torah and the punishments of the Torah to understand the seriousness of the crime. They were not simply afraid of punishment in the sense of getting caught but were afraid of the crime itself.
However this use of the Torah system to run society was only when the crime of murder was not common but was simply the result of someone’s great lust or some quarrel concerning money or honor. But when people killed simply because it was viewed as an insignificant thing and the murderer was simply a callous and cruel person or similarly if there was a great deal of murders and wickedness – then a different system of law was utilized that was concerned with the pragmatic question of stopping killing and the goal became saving the society.
And I finish with the blessing that the Governor should rule the State with righteousness and honesty and also with the rule of law that is appropriate all his days. And his name should be made great among the United States.
With Blessing,
Moshe Feinstein
Thanks to Shmuel Peri, "Capital Punishment in Halakha," http://www.sefaria.org/sheets/27350 for the bulk of this translation.