Deuteronomy 19:13
Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee. Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee.
Deuteronomy 19:13 stands in the fifth and last book of the Pentateuch, within three addresses given by Moses just before his death. More specifically it stands in the second section in chapters 5 to 26 that reviews the law for the new generation, the second law or duplicate of the law from which the book is named. Chapters 1 to 4:40 rehearse God's goodness to Israel, while chapters 27 to 30 renew the covenant.
It belongs to the law Moses recalled to Israel before crossing the Jordan, among the laws and special instructions given for its government. That law emphasized the sacred importance of God's law and the necessity of keeping it. In Deuteronomy 19 the law of blood revenge was restricted, requiring that the guilty be punished while innocent blood was cleared from Israel.
Intentional murder was distinguished from accidental killing, with hatred, lying in wait, and deliberate action establishing guilt. The cities of refuge protected only accidental slayers, shielding an accused killer from private vengeance until judgment. Then the slayer could state his case and the congregation could judge the case at a fair trial. After such a trial a willful murderer was handed over for punishment, since refuge did not shield a willful murderer from justice or let a convicted murderer escape the legal consequence of guilt.
A convicted willful murderer found guilty after a fair trial is to receive no pity and is not to be spared or released. He is to be handed over and put to death under the prescribed punishment. So the guilt of innocent blood is put away from Israel, that it may go well with the people and the community may prosper.