It wasn’t a question of Whodunit? The issue to be settled in these court cases was why.
Police, when called to a crime scene, are searching for three things among the evidence: motive, means and opportunity. Motive is a reason to commit the crime, means includes the ability and tools necessary to effect it, and opportunity points to an adequate chance to do the deed. As Moses recounts his establishment of cities of refuge, particularly the three east of Jordan, we read that he “set apart three cities on this side of the Jordan, toward the rising of the sun, that the manslayer might flee there, who kills his neighbor unintentionally, without having hated him in time past, and that by fleeing to one of these cities he might live” (Deut 4:41-42). Remember that there were no prisons in Israel, and justice was largely in the hands of family members, especially the near kinsman, or goel, called “the avenger of blood” (Num 35:19). These cities provided protective custody until the case could be heard by a jury of peers. Clearly the means and opportunity were already established, because the person had died at his neighbor’s hands. The only question was whether motive could be proven. The proof of innocence was, “without having hated him in time past.” How many times have the words “I wish I could kill him” or something similar come back to haunt a person under suspicion? In fact, the Lord Jesus warned, “Whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment” (Mt 5:22). John adds, “Whoever hates his brother is a murderer” (1 Jn 3:15). Sin is a fact before it’s an act, and when the motive is already lurking in the heart, it won’t be long before means and opportunity appear tantalizingly before us. So let’s be sure to uproot any seeds of hatred and roots of bitterness from our hearts immediately!