Michael Dalezman asked:
The end of the second Mishna lists possible outcomes for a murder trial. Why doesn't the Mishna list a fourth one mentioned in Sanhedrin 81b: if there was only one witness or no warning or if the witnesses contradicted each other in the Bedikos then the defendant is locked up in a Kipah?
The Kollel replies:
Although we have yet to find a convincing proof, the members of the Kollel feel that the since the Onesh of Kipah is not written as explicitly in the Torah, it is therefore given over to the discretion of the Dayanim, whereas the other Onshim are not given over to their discretion. In other words, they are allowed to put the Rotze'ach in a Kipah but they need not do so. (If we find a clear source for this, we will get back to you.)
D. Zupnik