English: It was taught: Rabbi Akiva says, a Sanhedrin that saw someone kill a person all become witnesses, and a witness may not become a judge; for the Merciful One said “the congregation shall judge and the congregation shall rescue,” and once they have seen him kill a person they can no longer see merit for him.
Type of Learning
Witnesses who observed the killing may not sit as judges to rescue.
What Is Learned
The dual role of the edah (judge and rescue) precludes those who witnessed the act from adjudicating it.