John Gill Commentary Deuteronomy 22:26

"but unto the damsel thou shalt do nothing; there is in the damsel no sin worthy of death: for as when a man riseth against his neighbor, and slayeth him, even so is this matter;" — Deuteronomy 22:26 (ASV)

But unto the damsel you shall do nothing
Neither fine her, nor beat her, and much less punish her with death:

there is in the damsel no sin worthy of death ;
because what was done to her was without her will or consent, and she was forced to submit to it; but the Targum of Jonathan adds, that the man to whom she was betrothed might dismiss her from himself by a bill of divorce:

for as when a man rises against his neighbour, and slays him, even
so is this matter ;
as when a man comes unawares upon another, and lays hold on him, and kills him, being stronger than he, and none to help; so is the case of a woman laid hold on by a man in a field, and ravished by him, where no help could be had; and depriving a woman of her chastity is like taking away a man's life; from this passage Maimonides ^F3 concludes, that impurities, incests, and adulteries, are equal to murder, to capital cases relating to life and death.

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FOOTNOTES:

• F3: Hilchot Yesode Hattorah, c. 5. sect. 10.