There is actually something RIGHT in the process, except no on is allowed to tell it to you.
jury nullification. It comes to us from British common law; it says that if a juror thinks the law is bad, even if the defendant is guilty, he should vote for acquittal.
There's a nice lady in Colorado who served a lot of time for "contempt of court" because she wouldn't convict in a drug case, and she said so. I know that it went to the supreme court [CO] who ruled in her favor - but bailiffs, clerks, attorneys, judges, all of them refuse to allow jurors to use this power. It can get you thrown in jail even during jury selection if you say you are in favor of it.
This is one of those things that I can hardly talk about because it makes me so.....insert adjective of your choice here. grrrrr.

I don't know. My friend was not knowledgeable about he law. He said he felt there was something wrong in the process, but the judge instructed them to make a decision based on whether the facts indicated the guy actually tried to run drugs. He very reluctantly thought yes. He was 26, I believe. Maybe now 12 years later and have having been through it once he would resign from the jury in protest of an unfair law. At the time he went along with what he thought was his duty to answer on the facts without regard to his personal opinion.

The way he explained it, the police had a standing reward for informants. This guy was not an employee but someone with a history of taking advantage of the reward. This came out in cross examination. Also, the defense pointed out that a percentage of the drugs went unaccounted for while in police custody. My friend also mentioned he was unclear on the specifics b/c he was not allowed to ask questions. It was up to the two sides to question witnesses; his job was to watch and decide matters of fact.

He felt so bad about it that he got upset when he heard sounds similar to those on the records the informant used. He's a very easy-going, upstanding guy. He was not an ideologue and never believed in decriminalization of drugs, but this experience made him think the way they enforce the drug laws is wrong.

I'll keep that in mind Fred...

this is a particularly grievous $$-enticement
situation. . Thank You, K, for posting this! -- j

gods' hairy balls

And how much of the time spent are the "dedicated" cops trolling through porn in their "research"?

So we see who are the real predators.

How much longer will it take before the scale of justice falls off its fulcrum? Just one more manifestation of the nation gaining momentum on its downhill flight toward totalitarianism.

this needs to be played up big so guys who frequent dating web site and i suspect it is in the millions who do not have any interest in underage girls will be aware of the possibility of arrest. then they can go back to the bars and know who they are trying to pick up. always look at the people who implement the law versus the creator of the law.

Disgusting. I have never found it moral or ethical to entice someone that may have never been involved in a crime to commit one. Pretending to be a drug buyer or a prostitute etc. in order to entice someone into committing an illegal act is itself an illegal act and should be treated as such. No immunity! Law enforcement should not be above the law. I am often reminded of Mr. DeLorean.

Reading that entrapment article turned my stomach.
It appears legislation is required to protect us from cops without a conscience.

So why didn't they also put the informant away for solicitation and conspiracy?

Let's face it, these men are safer and easier to arrest than a murderer, which partly explains why 2/3 to 3/4 of the murders in the U.S. are not solved. Lt. Columbo is long gone.

govt

It reminds me of a time my friend sat on a jury in a drug trial in FL. The prosecution admitted that their informant made a living out of convincing people to transport drugs and then turning them in for a reward, in this case $20,000. There was no evidence the suspect had been involved with drugs prior to meeting the informant. It was really disgusting. My friend voted to convict based on the evidence and later had nightmares about being a part of putting away a father who seemed like a nice guy who wanted to make a little extra money.