Hi all!
Exodus 22:19 does not condemn David Copperfield, or the kind of magicians who appear on HBO specials, or at your local nightclub, to death. Card tricks are not going to get one stoned (literally).
Look at the context of Exodus 22:17 (in our numeration of the verses, "You shall not suffer a sorceress to live" is 22:17). It's lumped in there with bestiality and sacrificing to other gods. This attests to the fact that witches & such in Biblical times were also practitioners of the foulest kinds of rites, which were, in fact, part & parcel, of the "witchcraft" practiced. (This is why, I don't think, Exodus 22:17 and other verses condemn modern-day Wiccans to death; Wiccans hardly burn their children to Molech, couple with animals, etc. The Wiccan Rede "An ye harm none, do as ye will" is a far cry from ancient Canaanite practices.)
See http://www.aish.com/spirituality/philosophy/Witchcraft_and_Judaism.asp.
But the death penalty here means actual execution. The way I understand Jewish law (and I am not a rabbi), a duly constituted & recognized rabbinical court could only apply the death penalty only if all of the following conditions were met: a) The offending party was mentally competent, b) The offending party had been warned by qualified authorities, prior to the commission of said act, about the specific law & the penalties for violating it, c) There were 2 eyewitnesses to the offending act, d) The offending party was of legal age & did not act under conpulsion or durress. Moreover, under Jewish law, hearsay, circumstantial evidence & confessions (in capital cases) are absolutely inadmissible. Executions immediately followed conviction (often on the same day) and were not open to the public. (See http://tinyurl.com/4qdkz, the Jewish Encyclopedia entry on "Capital Punishment.")
Howzat?
Be well!
stillsmallvoice