You are probably an really smart person, but this line of reasoning appeals to us at a very visceral level. If you look at the harm done to society, a guilty in

You are probably an really smart person, but this line of reasoning appeals to us at a very visceral level. If you look at the harm done to society, a guilty individual going free is a far smaller injury than letting government run amok. It might seem absurd today (although it shouldn't, given the snowden papers), but power concentrated in government hands will be mistreated as soon as the person gets elected who is willing to use it. And if that happens, it's catastrophic.