re: #169 Simply Sarah

Honestly, I never know exactly what to think with these kinds of FBI stings. I mean, in theory they indicate that the targets of the sting were at the very least willing to go along with the plan, but it’s often fuzzy where they would have ended up without the “aid” of law enforcement. I mean, there is a line over which it becomes entrapment, but there’s a lot of room before it is crossed. Really, we’re stuck waiting for more details/a trial to work out if they more jumped or if they were mostly pushed. Not a great solution or answer, but I’m not sure what the other options are at this point.

Of course the technique can be abused. The police are pretty careful to stay within the legal boundaries because they want a conviction. If they overstep the case will get thrown out of court.
We’ve used the same technique against murder for hire plots for ages. If you go around asking to hire a hitman there’s a good chance the first volunteer is going to be an FBI agent.