Jeffery Archer must have got under the skin of some fairly powerful people over the years. There is clearly a broad section of people who want to see him crying for mercy.
There's no doubt he has lied to the courts, the media and, presumably, his wife on many issues but that doesn't make him worse than many other people who live under the public gaze.
I've never met the man, so my opinion of him is gleaned from the media, but he seems self-serving and arrogant with few, if any, friends. The one friend he did trust to provide him with an alibi for his meeting with a prostitute didn't hesitate to spill the beans when cornered and I can't help feeling that Archer is one of those people who go through life with one finger poised over the self-destruct button.
He is obviously a capable and intelligent man, his books are sure-thing best sellers so a lot of folk must like them and he was, at one time, the golden boy of Conservative politics.
It seems to me that, although the press were intent on destroying him, other people were feeding the press in the certain knowledge that a flawed character such as Archers' was bound to trip himself up.
I don't know why Archer was singled out for special treatment but I would bet that there are people in positions of trust and authority whose crimes are worse but who are simply better at managing their indiscretions.