The 279th prohibition is that a judge is forbidden from having pity on a murderer, or on having a person who caused someone loss of limb to pay the penalty. He should not say, "This person is poor, and he cut off the other person's hand or blinded his eye unintentionally," and therefore out of pity be lenient regarding the full payment of damages.
The source of this prohibition is G‑d's statement,1 "Do not have pity in such a case, [since you must take] a life for a life, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, and a foot for a foot." This prohibition is repeated in the verse,2 "Do not have pity on the [killer], and rid Israel of [those who shed] innocent blood."
