Deuteronomy 19: Principles Of Justice

In a world without police and prisons, it must have been quite a challenge to maintain order and provide justice.  For instance, without a criminal court system in place, what prevents a person from taking the law o the jungle (revenge and retribution) into their own hands?  Especially in the case of an accidental death such as manslaughter, how can one who may have unintentionally killed another be protected from vengeance?

Deuteronomy 19 offers several principles of justice that - while ancient - can be seen as a concern to do what is right in difficult circumstances.  "Cities of refuge" - at least three - were to be set up as a places where those who had accidentally killed people could flee to avoid avenging relatives.  The call for these cities and procedures are outlined in verses 1-13.  (Note: the cities of refuge were only for unintentional killings; murderers were to be handed over without mercy to face capital punishment.)

Also in this chapter is the commandment to not tamper with boundary markers (vs 14).  Without surveying equipment and county auditor offices, large stones were sometimes the only objects designating the edge of one's property.  The temptation to move such stones and give yourself more land might have been strong, but the Bible says such an action constitutes fraud.

Finally, the rules about testimony are contained in verses 15-21.  No one is to be convicted on the basis of a single eyewitness (vs. 15).  Matters are to be established by multiple witnesses.  Also, in the case of a perjuring hostile witness, the rule is that the punishment for perjury is to do to that person whatever harm they were hoping to inflict on another (vs. 19).  Such policies are meant to have a deterrent effect (vs. 20).  

While our modern justice system looks quite different from Moses', the idea of finding steadfast principles of justice is a concern that has remained through the ages.