What is Entrapment?
Entrapment is a legal defense that argues a person was induced or persuaded by law enforcement to commit a crime they otherwise would not have committed. It involves tactics that would cause a person to engage in criminal activity they would not have done on their own.
Types of Entrapment
- Objective Entrapment: When the conduct of law enforcement creates a substantial risk that the offense will be committed by a person who is not predisposed to commit it.
- Subjective Entrapment: When the predisposition to commit the crime lies within the defendant rather than law enforcement inducement.
Examples of Entrapment
An undercover officer repeatedly insists that a person sells them drugs until they finally agree, or law enforcement threatens harm if the person doesn’t commit a crime.
Case Studies
In the case of Sorrells v. United States in 1932, the Supreme Court ruled that evidence of entrapment should result in acquittal. In United States v. Russell in 1973, the Supreme Court ruled that entrapment is not a defense if the defendant was predisposed to commit the crime.
Statistics on Entrapment
According to a study conducted by the University of Florida Law Review, entrapment accounted for 10% of cases where criminal suspects are freed due to legal technicalities.
