>I suspect that the powerful conspirators some people seem to suspect are well aware of my friend's lesson and are equally unwilling to tolerate a partial succe

>I suspect that the powerful conspirators some people seem to suspect are well aware of my friend's lesson and are equally unwilling to tolerate a partial success. It depends on what constitutes success. Take this hypothetical: the target has a habit of driving lightly to moderately intoxicated. Assuming he or she survives, do you think anyone is going to believe this person's story about what actually happened when the toxicology report comes back saying they were intoxicated? No. The said conspirators would still reap partial success in the form of a clear message and chilling effect, not to mention inflicting potentially debilitating injuries or the resulting damage to the target's reputation. Hypotheticals aside, you're probably right. If an unlikely cabal of evil conspirators are going to go to such lengths, they likely would prefer a more predictable outcome.