Torah and Murder: The Cities of Refuge and Anglo-American Law

Abstract

This article suggests important connections between the biblical and Anglo-American laws of murder. The first part describes the biblical law. The second part describes the development of the Anglo-American law with an eye towards how it reflects the biblical law. Three aspects of the law of murder figure prominently in this account: the mens rea sufficient to establish murder, the presumption of mens rea from actus reus, and the incidence of capital punishment. The Bible speaks to all three aspects, and repeatedly Anglo-American jurists have heard its voice.

Keywords: homicide, legal history, biblical law, law and religion