For the source text click/tap here: Sanhedrin 15
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According to the Mishna (2a) all capital crimes are judged by a court of 23. The Mishna continues and teaches that when an ox gores and kills a person, the ox will be taken before a court of 23 who will pass judgment on the animal and kill it if it is found to be responsible for the person’s death.
Rather than decreeing a death penalty on someone whose ox killed a person, this pasuk is understood to teach that the ox will be tried in the same manner as a person would be tried, under these circumstances.
We explore the history of animal trials in antiquity and more recently.