Halakhah к Мишлей 15:4

From the laws of the commandment is that which they said (Makkot 5a) that the matter of refutation is upon the witnesses themselves, as we have said - for example that they say to them, "You were with us in place x." But with the matter of contradiction, we do not believe these over those; and the testimony of all of them is nullified. And what is the content of contradiction? For example, that they testify about the testimony itself: that the first group says, "Thing x happened," and the latter says, "It did not happen," or it comes by implication of their words that it did not. And [also] that which they, may their memory be blessed, said (Makkot 3b) that colluding witnesses are not killed, nor do they pay money nor are they lashed until they are both refuted. And [also] that which they, may their memory be blessed, said (Makkot 3b) that colluding witnesses do not need warning, but rather once they are refuted, they are judged; and that witnesses that were first contradicted and, afterwards, refuted - behold these are also judged; as they, may their memory be blessed, said (Bava Kamma 3b), "Contradiction is the beginning of refutation." And [also] that which they, may their memory be blessed, said (Ketuvot 20a), that we only refute witnesses in front of them, but we contradict witnesses [also] not in front of them. And if they extracted money with their testimony, the court returns the money to its owner, and the witnesses pay according to the amount of money that they thought to make him lose. But with capital cases, it is not like this: As if one is killed according to them and they are refuted afterwards, they are not killed - as so does it come in the received tradition (Makkot 5a), "[If] they did not kill, they are killed, if they killed, they are not killed." And there is somewhat of a reason to give about the matter: [It is] because 'God is present in the congregation of judges.' And were it not that the convicted was guilty because of his [other] evil deeds, the judicial procedure would not have been concluded against him. But rather he was fit for this [punishment], and the judgement against this evildoer was orchestrated from the Heavens. And about similar to this is it stated (Proverbs 15:4), "even an evildoer for an evil day." And since the matter is clarified to our eyes that this man was to die, the Torah did not want that we should kill the witnesses over him. And the analogy about this is one that kills a treifah (someone who is deathly ill) is not killed over him. [And] this one is like that - since we knew in the way that we said that he is guilty in the Heavenly court, [it is considered as if] he had no blood. And the rest of the details of the commandment are elucidated in Tractate Makkot (Chapter 1).