The overarching trend worries me far more than whether any individual case is reasonable or “justified,” and goes beyond the question of whether Kashuv or any other individual case turned out to deserve what they got or not. No doubt the overincarceration of criminals when I was a kid netted some real monsters who should be locked up forever, too. But the mechanism is such that it makes no difference to the mob whether the person they are after is indeed the Devil Incarnate or an innocent or at least not entirely evil person deserving of a defense or a second chance.

Wherever you are on the political spectrum, that kind of undiscriminating approach should greatly worry you. It should worry you because lots of lives were ruined the last time this happened, and all the teeth-gnashing now makes no difference to the years they lost. It should worry you because mobs are fickle and can and will turn on the nearest and often easiest target. It should worry you because laws can be reformed and amended a lot easier than angry public opinion—even that of a small but very vocal group—can be checked.