My dear and beloved brother Moq, I did not cite the gemorah in Taanis. Another poster did, and you are conflating me with him.
Yesterday when I made my brief comment citing the Chazon Ish, I did so from memory. When you (and later someone else as well) asked for my source, I spend a considerable amount of time to find it, as I had not recalled where I had seen it. Yes, it was written by the Chazon Ish’s close acquaintance, a Talmid Chochom and Tzadik in his own right, rather than by the CI himself. Its accuracy isn’t in question, the Orchos Rabbeinu is cited numerous times by later Torah authorities as a source for many issues. My apologies for having not been clear initially, relying on memory. But comparing it to an Artscroll biography comes from being influenced by the numerous anti-Torah blogs out there that don’t like them. (I’m still waiting for the comparisons to stoning by the Sanhedrin to the typical retorts about Ayatollahs, burqas, and the Taliban.)
Yes, the Court had authority to dish out appropriate punishment even if it wasn’t specifically written in a source that its a death penalty issue. That was my point. Nevertheless, they would not execute someone who ate a meat-and-cheese sandwich, even multiple times after being lashed. The punishment wouldn’t fit the crime.
Gross public indecency, says the Chazon Ish, is a crime fitting for execution. That means even wearing slacks outside, let alone the far worse crime of leaving ones legs uncovered at times in public, with a short skirt.
No, nobody here wants to execute the prutzas with the short skirts. Everyone wants them to do teshuva. Or at least start by not actually defending such abominable behavior. But pointing out that this kind of unrepentant public behavior is worthy of being stoned for, was not my thing. It is the Chazon Ish.