Is Entrapment a sin?

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The way I understand entrapment I would take it as a sin. Are you thinking of “stings” when the police set something up to catch drug dealers, other criminals? I don’t think of those methods as entrapment for one (if that is what you are thinking about) though I am not sure they are the best way to decrease criminal activity.

I think of entrapment more on the personal level of deceiving someone so they do something without understanding that what they are doing is wrong. For example: getting a friend to drive a car you know is stolen, but they don’t. They get in trouble but you are free and clear.

Such things can be done with money, property, relationships and so on. Does this make sense or am I not getting it?
 
Here is the issue with entrapment.

Per the law, the government needs probable cause to take any action against an individual. In order to illegally obtain probable cause, the government knowingly bears false witness against the individual–the government entraps. We know that the Church teaches that use of an evil act to bring about the end of another evil act is wrong.
 
Here is the issue with entrapment.

Per the law, the government needs probable cause to take any action against an individual. In order to illegally obtain probable cause, the government knowingly bears false witness against the individual–the government entraps. We know that the Church teaches that use of an evil act to bring about the end of another evil act is wrong.
Entrapment laws vary by nation, and in the US, they vary from state to state. So there’s no one standard. I know that in the U.S., entrapment typically requires more than deception, that it requires some form of coercion. The government agent has to exert pressure on the person that induces them to act in a way they would not have otherwise. The idea behind this is that government agents shouldn’t be turning normally honest folks into criminals just to make arrests.
 
Entrapment laws vary by nation, and in the US, they vary from state to state. So there’s no one standard. I know that in the U.S., entrapment typically requires more than deception, that it requires some form of coercion. The government agent has to exert pressure on the person that induces them to act in a way they would not have otherwise. The idea behind this is that government agents shouldn’t be turning normally honest folks into criminals just to make arrests.
Thanks for your post.

What if the coercion is performed by a party with whom the agent contracted with, and the agent wasn’t aware of the coercion?
 
The problem I have with your post, teeboy, is that “entrapment” under US law by axiom entails some wrongdoing, i.e., asking “is entrapment a sin?” is like asking, “is burglary a sin,?” where the event is by definition wrong.

The better way to phrase the question would be “is it a sin for the police to set a trap for an unwary criminal by inducing or creating a situation where the criminal is induced to commit a criminal act?”

IMHO no, it is often not. It is morally allowable. If you think otherwise – do you think it is a sin for a policeman to go undercover and pose as someone he’s not, in order to catch a criminal?
 
The problem I have with your post, teeboy, is that “entrapment” under US law by axiom entails some wrongdoing, i.e., asking “is entrapment a sin?” is like asking, “is burglary a sin,?” where the event is by definition wrong.

The better way to phrase the question would be “is it a sin for the police to set a trap for an unwary criminal by inducing or creating a situation where the criminal is induced to commit a criminal act?”

IMHO no, it is often not. It is morally allowable. If you think otherwise – do you think it is a sin for a policeman to go undercover and pose as someone he’s not, in order to catch a criminal?
The current question is related to coercion by a third party under contract with a government agency.
 
The current question is related to coercion by a third party under contract with a government agency.
Do you mean a situation like when a police informant lures a criminal into a drug deal or something as part of a police sting? I think that it is right to subject those situations to some moral evaluation, yes, because it could be abused if that becomes the only evidence with which to charge a person.

In cases where all the evidence clearly stacks up but one final bit of proof is needed to charge someone, entrapment is a prudent and justifiable situation in my opinion.
 
The legal definition of entrapment is enticing a subject to commit an offense that he is not predisposed to commit. It is not necessarily dishonest. What makes it wrong is that it causes a person to commit an offense he would not have otherwise committed.
 
Thats pretty sad. Like when u need a ‘fall guy’ for an uncomfortable situation nobody can deal with. Sinful yes, even mortally so, because at its heart, its a lie & dishonest; a perversion of the truth brought about by manipulation, caused by the inadequacies of other people to deal with the truth.
The truth shall set you free, not set you on the path of entrapment.
 
In my opinion, Entrapment is not a sin. Ad one just needs look at the show “To catch a predator” to see this. Yes, they “Lure” the predator under false pretense, but in a way it’s like “Minority report” in that they prevent a future crime from happening. So in this case I don’t believe it’s a sin, however, it could be different if you just left a bag of money on a purposely and see who would steal it, which would be a LOT of people.
 
Entrapment is immoral. It is contrary to truth. God is truth. Period.
 
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