TT #199 · Parashas Shoftim · Fifth Aliyah · Passuk 19:04
And this is the matter of the killer who shall flee there and live: one who strikes his fellow without knowledge, and he was not an enemy to him from yesterday and the day before.
Torah Temimah points to Makkot 7b–8a.
TT lemma: אֲשֶׁר יַכֶּה אֶת רֵעֵהוּ בִּבְלִי דַעַת.
English: ‘Who strikes his fellow without knowledge’ – excluding the intentional killer.
Derash distinguishing shogeg from mezid (Bavli) — ‘without knowledge’ excludes deliberate murder.
Only the accidental killer (who acted without knowledge) is entitled to the protection of the city of refuge; the intentional murderer is not.