Responsa for II Samuel 21:1

Yet I see that you all consent to eliminating this evil from your midst. He has certainly desecrated God’s name publicly, and it has been heard by the Ishmaelites, who are very harsh against those who speak against their religion and their faith. This desecration will be exacerbated if we do not take lawful action/vengeance against him, as a safeguard. It is also proper to sanctify God’s name by punishing this wicked man. We find that to sanctify God’s name, they struck at princes for the sake of tagalong proselytes, even hanging their corpses (see 2 Samuel 21:1-9). Similarly, to create a safeguard, they stoned [to death] someone who rode a horse on Shabbat. So too, it is proper to sanctify God’s name by eliminating this wicked man.