BTW Biblical eye witness testimony requires the witness to know they person they are identifying.
So, fsckboy, what we are doing today is not exactly what has been done since Cain and Abel, we took the ancient idea of eye witness and extended it beyond where it is reliable.
Biblical eyewitness testimony also requires multiple witnesses:
> One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.
Witnessing falsely was rightly a very big deal to them. It's one of the Ten Commandments, right up there with worshipping idols or committing murder. And according to the following verses of this passage, anyone who witnesses falsely will receive the exact same punishment that the accused would have received.
BTW I referenced the time of Cain and Abel as metonymy for "early humans", not advocacy for the Bible. While the Bible(s) contain interesting and thoughtful ideas about how a functioning legal system could be constructed, in terms of advocacy I'd advocate incorporating enlightenment innovations such as the US bill of rights, etc.
So, fsckboy, what we are doing today is not exactly what has been done since Cain and Abel, we took the ancient idea of eye witness and extended it beyond where it is reliable.