35:16-25
Having regard for the person who accidentally kills someone is sensible and right. However, it must not be taken advantage of and we have clear delineation of cases where the one who killed is guilty of murder. This is followed by cases where the person who killed could flee to a city of refuge.
35:26-34
Once inside a city of refuge, the accused had to stay there if they wanted to benefit from the protection that these places afforded. They could only leave once the high priest had died. This was presumably to allow sufficient time to elapse between the event and their leaving the city.
We also get other stipulations, most importantly that someone could only be found guilty on the testimony of two witnesses, not just one. Nor could one buy one's release. If someone was guilty of murder then they were due the death penalty. The underlying principle behind all this is the sanctity of life, and the seriousness of murder.
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