When an organization collapses, there is always going to be some level of collateral damage. I believe we should consider the fallout when we hand out punishments. I believe there are probably a lot of cases where the death penalty does more harm to the current and future students than it does good to the current and future victims. A parallel example might be the TSA after 9/11. Yeah, we sure made a big deal of that and those changes probably made some people feel better. But did those changes really accomplish anything, or is it just making things harder for regular people who had nothing to do with it? And more importantly, is it still possible to pull off the same stunt using different tactics?

I'm not sure what to think about your point about seemingly infallible leadership, whether that was a contributing factor in either case. Did people honestly believe that? I've always been critical of my bosses, to some extent or another. Even the ones I liked. In this day and age, I have a hard time believing any organization escapes criticism.