The practice of prosecuting individuals out of
embarrassment, well in excess of any demonstrable
harm. The practice is particularly ubiquitous in Western democracies where sedition is an unpopular prosecutorial tack in order to dispense retributive punitive enforcement in response to indefensible egg-on-the-
face.
Two cases are particularly illustrative:
The US
government's piling on of charges against Barrett Brown constitutes a very clear, inflamed case of
butthurt-prosecution.
Barrett Brown guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/mar/21/barrett-brown-persecution-anonymous
Although he pleaded guilty to offenses carrying ~20 years in prison, Bradley Manning must still stand trial for his life, as the DoD and DoS have a wicked bout of
butthurt-prosecution.
Bradley Manning bradleymanning.org/