I get what you're saying. Surely we can all agree that there is a difference between a guy who busted a CFI checkride in the 90s and then failed one PC at an airline, versus:
Literally failing. every. single. checkride. that. ever. came. his. way (Colgan CA). Pvt, Inst, Comm, initial Saab, recurrent Saab, then recurrent Saab again.
or
Going to several regionals, Air Wis, Trans States, Mesa, (and some I'm forgetting I'm sure) and then again failing pretty much at every step of the way. Withdrew from Air Wis. Mesa, got on as FO, failed the upgrade process. Not once, but twice! Then went to Atlas. Failed the 76 type the first time, given another chance and got online.
Both these individuals had enough red flags throughout their histories. This wouldn't be just a case of a rogue checkairman out to make you have a bad day. Obviously, the hiring boards consider (or should consider) that possibility. But these two pilots? They knew about their past records and that's why they lied about it - they knew it would be the only way to get hired.