The Gemorah up to this point appears to suggest that the goel hadam may kill either an intentional and unintentional murderer before the court has had the opportunity to try the accused if the accused has not successfully fled to a city of refuge. Intuitively, this appears troubling since it would appear a goel hadam could kill a individual who may be otherwise judged by a court to be totally innocent! What am I missing?
P.S. Thank you for your detailed response regarding the status of marriage among nonJews.
Joseph Neustein, MD, El Paso, Texas USA
Your insights are actually missing very little.
As we see in the Gemara, the Go'el ha'Dam has the right to kill any killer before the ruling of Beis Din, as long as the killer's punishment is Galus or worse. This includes those who are considered "Karov l'Mezid" (who eventually will go free), those who are Mezid without Hasra'ah, etc. In all of these cases he will be exonerated for his act.
However, if the killer is found Chayav anything less than Galus (posthumously), for example if he killed "Derech Aliyah" or another form of "Karov l'Ones," the Go'el ha'Dam will be held responsible for his death.
D. Zupnik