Sanhedrin Chapter 6, Mishnah 6 - the final Mishnah of the chapter, which concludes the laws of one who is stoned. In the previous section, we learned that he is not buried in his family burial plot, because of the title of wickedness that has attached to him. However, this situation is only temporary, assuming he confessed and repented before his death.
Gathering the bones and burying them:
"Nit'akel habasar - melaktin et ha'atzamot vekovrin otan bimkoman" - once the flesh has decomposed completely. The word "עיכול" (digestion) here is used in its literal sense of digestion: as if the earth has digested the flesh of the condemned man. Once this process is complete, they gather his bones and bury them in their proper place - in the family burial plot or in the cemetery where he belongs.
There is therefore a reburial here, even though generally we do not handle the body of a deceased person and we do not move him from his place. This is permitted only when it is for the benefit of the deceased: such as a reburial in the Land of Israel, or moving him to the family burial plot, since a person wants to be buried with his family members.
"Vehakerovim ba'in vesho'alin bishlom hadayanim uvishlom ha'edim":
Here the Mishnah goes backward in time, to the moments after the execution. The relatives of the condemned man approach the judges and the witnesses who brought about his death and greet them. "Sho'alin bishlom" literally means to ask about their peace, but the idea is offering a greeting of peace. The Mishnah explains the meaning of this: "Kelomar she'ein belibenu aleichem klum shedin emet dantem" - we do not hold a grudge against you for putting our relative to death, since we accept that the judgment you rendered is a judgment of truth and justice.
Why do the relatives not say this explicitly, but only implicitly? There are two reasons for this:
From the perspective of the relatives: People who have just lost their relative are in deep sorrow, and they do not have the strength to say such explicit words.
From the perspective of honoring the dead: An explicit statement does not honor the dead, and the obligations to honor the dead still exist. Therefore, they suffice with a short, polite statement, from which it is understood that they hold no grudge in their hearts.
"Velo hayu mitablin aval onenin":
Here there is a separate prohibition: one does not mourn for a wicked person who has died. Mourning is a form of honoring the dead, and this person is not fitting for such honor. Therefore, the relatives do not sit shivah and they do not observe the laws of mourning.
Nevertheless, the Mishnah recognizes that sorrow is a completely real and legitimate reality within the framework of halachah. A person may suffer over the loss of his relative, a severe and terrible pain, regardless of the question of whether he "deserved it" and what he did. Regarding this, the Mishnah says: "She'ein aninut ela belev" - aninut (deep sorrow) is an internal experience in the heart, and the Torah almost never dictates halachic rulings against a person's internal feelings. There is therefore no sin or flaw in the relatives feeling deep sadness and sorrow over the loss of their relative, whatever the deed was that brought about his death.
The law of deferral:
Formal mourning is not observed at all. Even at the time of the second burial, when the bones are gathered, the laws of mourning are not observed. No separate mourning period or day of mourning is established. The basis for this is the principle of deferment: the rule is that once mourning has been pushed off, it is not resumed. Therefore, even though at the time of the reburial the status of a wicked person has already been removed from him and there would be grounds to mourn him, this is not done.
The law of deferment is familiar to anyone who has taken part in the mourning process, through the halachah that the festivals cancel mourning. For example: if a person passes away on Monday and his relatives sit shivah for him on Tuesday, and on Wednesday the festival of Shavuos occurs - they do not observe mourning on the festival, and on Thursday, when the festival ends, they do not resume the mourning. The shivah has ended, because it was pushed off, and once pushed off, it remains pushed off.
So too in our case: the mourning was pushed off because at the time of death and burial he had the status of a wicked person. And although now this status has been removed from him and he has ceased to be wicked, mourning is not observed for him, since it was already pushed off - and once pushed off, it is pushed off forever.
In summary: In this Mishnah we learned the conclusion of the laws of someone who is stoned: once the flesh has decomposed, they gather the bones and bury them in their proper place; the relatives greet the judges and the witnesses to show that they harbor no ill will against them in their hearts, for they judged a true judgment; we do not mourn a wicked person because it brings him no honor, but they do experience aninus - since aninus is only in the heart, and internal grief is legitimate; and due to the law of deferment, they do not go back to observing mourning even after the status of a wicked person has been removed from him.