EXOD1061 Do not administer the death penalty on Shabbos. On Shabbos, courts shall not administer the death penalty of burning. So, too, if someone is found guilty of an offense that carries a different form of capital punishment, the offender shall not be put to death on Shabbos. Hashem wants to honor and sanctify the Shabbos. He wants everyone to find rest on Shabbos, even sinners and criminals. The matter can be likened to a great king who invites everyone to his kingdom to a royal feast. No one is excluded, and only after the day of the feast does the king mete out justice to those who have violated his will. The Shabbos, too, is for everyone. Hashem makes it special, for our benefit. Forbidding the courts from administering the death penalty on Shabbos is yet another way to set the Shabbos apart from weekdays and accentuate its sanctity.