Exodus 21:12 says, He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death.  The penalty for smiting, or murdering, a man, was death.  All life is important to God, and we cannot to murder someone without there being a severe penalty.  Verse thirteen states, And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver him into his hand; then I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee.  God made a provision for those who did not deliberately kill a person, for those who had not laid in wait, or planned to kill that person.  God would appoint a place for the man who did this to flee.  We don't have such a place today, but we do have different designations for what someone is guilty of if they kill another person.  Verse fourteen declares, But if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbour, to slay him with guile; thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die.  God said this was because the one who killed his neighbor was to be taken from His altar.  We cannot really serve God and hate, much less kill, our neighbor.  The person who deliberately killed his neighbor was to be put to death himself.  Verse fifteen states, And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death.  This refers to hitting a parent and not to killing them.  A child should never hit his or her parent out of anger or disrespect.  The penalty for this in the Old Testament was death.  Verse sixteen says, And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.  The penalty for stealing and selling a man was death.  God has always taken relationships between people serious.  Verse seventeen declares, And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death.  This takes the treatment of parents a step farther, declaring that simply cursing them brings a death penalty.  I believe that this means when parents are living up to their responsibility as parents and even when they aren't, unless we are in physical danger, we are to show them respect.  Verse eighteen states, And if men strive together, and one smite another with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keepeth his bed:  Then verse nineteen adds, If he rise again, and walk abroad upon his staff, then shall he that smote him be quit: only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall cause him to be thoroughly healed.  If a man was injured in a fight, and was confined to his bed for a time but recovered, the one who injured him was to be responsible for paying for the time the injured person lost at work.  Verse twenty proclaims, And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand; he shall be surely punished.  People were not free to kill their servants.  Just because we are in a superior position to someone else in the eyes of the world does not give us the right to kill or mistreat them.  Verse twenty-one adds, Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished: for he is his money. If the servant was beaten and recovered in a day or two, the master was to be considered to have lost enough because the servant couldn't work during that time.  Verse twenty-two declares, If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman’s husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.  God said that if a man caused a woman who was pregnant to lose a child, that he should certainly be punished.  It was up to the husband and the judges to determine the penalty.  I don't believe that God has changed His mind about the loss of an unborn due to the actions of others, and I believe that the father still has a right in determining the fate of that child.  Verse twenty-three adds, And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life,  Then verse twenty-four adds, Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,  Then verse twenty-five concludes, Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.  We could say that the punishment was to fit the crime.  God holds all life sacred, and if we abuse or kill someone, then we should be willing to pay the penalty for it.  If we have accepted salvation through Christ, then the most that can be happen is to die physically, and if we haven't accepted Christ, then there will be time to do so.  Of course, as Christians, we shouldn't be guilty of these things to start with, but since we are told that even our thoughts of such things make us guilty, we may be guilty more often than we wish to admit.