Public shaming (warning, controversial topic, please be nice)

What do you guys think of contemporary public shaming?

Trying to get perceived evildoers to apologise publicly and exposing every alleged wrongdoing?

Whether media led or internet led... If find it disconcerting. I think the point of civilisation is that we moved beyond tarring and feathering in a public square... This seems like a regression to mob rule...

What defence is there for the accused? Especially in this age of easy access to people's private lives and anonymous rumour mongering...

I think I noticed this most clearly during the Tiger Woods scandal... Even my educated, white-collar colleagues were part of the rumour mill, taking about it during meetings, following every detail, etc... It felt odd and out of place for someone's private life to be such a matter of public engaggment and opinion... Especially as there was not even an allegation of crime involved...

Obviously, the current round of Hollywood scandals are quite different as there are potential criminal implications to the allegations and workplace sexual harrasment is inherently a public matter. I'm not equating these scandals with Woods' escapades... But I can't shake the feeling that there is something odd about the way we relish the public shaming as a way to seek justice, even before anything has been proven...

Am I the only one who feels this way? Is everyone else ok about this?