One of the most fascinating clauses in the Torah's criminal justice system is the law of the "indefensible criminal." If the evidence against the accused is so compelling that not a single one of the 23-member tribunal is inclined to argue in his favor, he cannot be convicted!
There's nary a shul bench in Mineola or a park bench in Jerusalem that does
not bear the inscription "In memory of ...." Is that what it's about
-- memorializing the dead? or is there something more significant at play here?