Entrapment

Overview
In criminal law, a person is entrapped when he is induced or persuaded by law enforcement officers or their agents to commit a crime that he had no previous intent to commit. A defendant who is subject to entrapment may not be convicted as a matter of public policy. However, there is no entrapment where a person is ready and willing to break the law and the government agents merely provide what appears to be a favorable opportunity for the person to commit the crime. Merely providing an opportunity to commit a crime is not entrapment.

In order to find entrapment, there must be persuasion to commit a crime by the entrapping party. Entrapment is an affirmative defense in which the defendant has the burden of proof. It excuses a criminal defendant from liability for crimes proved to have been induced by certain governmental persuasion or deceit. To claim inducement, a defendant must demonstrate that the government conduct created a situation in which an otherwise law-abiding citizen would commit an offense. The defendant must show that he or she was unduly persuaded, threatened, coerced, harassed, or offered pleas based on sympathy or friendship by police.

Source

 * The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Terrorism Investigations, at 21-22 n.143.