I'm seeing about an equal number of up and down votes on this, and I just want to add one thing. Some context for those who think it's only the odd bad apple elder...

I was a JW for 29 years. I got baptized as an adult. My family and family friends were all elders, pioneers, and bethelites. I've either been in or personally known the BoE for 9 congregations as an adult.

I know of multiple instances in all but one congregation where the rules were knowingly misapplied by the BoE to get rid of or make life difficult for someone they didn't like. In those 8/9 congregations: 2 women were forced to stay with their physically abusive and cheating husbands and warned not to "gossip" about it, 3 people were disfellowshipped for something the elders simply invented and did not happen, 2 for an honest attempt to approach the elders with questions about our beliefs they expected the elders to have an answer to, 2 for addiction issues while they were in treatment, an entire family were disfellowshipped for going through official channels to contest their son's unfair disfellowshipping, and 2 committed suicide and 3 died of overdoses shortly after being disfellowshipped.

These are just the ones I know personally.

It's not a couple of bad apples.