The penalty for Nephi's slaying of Laban

I came across this article from BOMC discussing the legal justification of Nephi's slaying of Laban.  The article points out that the act itself was justified by the law, due to the fact that Laban had committed three capital offenses against Nephi and his brothers (accusing them of being robbers, robbing them of their riches, and not keeping the commandments of God). Even so, there is a specific penalty for killing a man in the precise circumstances we encounter in 1 Nephi 4.

Consider these verses from Exodus:

12 ¶ He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death.
13 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. (Exodus 21)

Perhaps this is why Nephi goes out of his way to say:

6 And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do. (1 Nephi 4)

Consider also the three-fold mention of the Lord delivering Laban into Nephi's hands (verses 11, 12, and 17).

This adds a clever and perhaps ironic twist to Nephi's obedience to the voice of the Lord...his "punishment" for slaying Laban and obtaining the plates was to be led to a place appointed for him by the Lord:

20 ...ye... shall be led to a land of promise; yea, even a land which I have prepared for you; yea, a land which is choice above all other lands. (1 Nephi 2)

In the Old Testament context, the punishment is to be "cast off" as an exile. In Nephi's context, it meant deliverance to a promised land.