If the facts were right, I think a person could be entitled to an entrapment defense under either theory in a To Catch a Predator situation. Under the objective test, the Court looks to the conduct of the police (instead of the mental state of the defendant) and asks whether the police conduct would cause an average, law-abiding person to commit the crime. To prevail under this test, a defendant must show that he wasn't predisposed to committing the crime in the first place. Under the subjective test, a person is entrapped if the police action actually causes the person to decide to commit the crime. This isn't wrong, but it's also not the legal test.Ī defendant may enjoy the defense of entrapment under one of two theories: "subjective test" entrapment and "objective test" entrapment. A number of the responses in here rightly point out that the suspects on the show are willfully engaging in the subject behavior. One suspect dropped a bag of crack, Whorton said.I'm going to have to disagree with some of the esteemed contributors here and say that To Catch a Predator certainly can be entrapment, in certain circumstances. Cars sped up and down the street and police sprinted from hiding spots, guns drawn, to arrest suspects, he said. “They can chase predators all they want, but they shouldn’t do it in a populated area with children, two blocks from an elementary school,” said Lisa Watson, 33, who lives down the road from the sting house and has three children and another on the way.īryan Whorton, who lives with his wife and baby across the street from the house, said his neighborhood was put in danger. “If professionals had been running the show, they would have done a much better job rather than being at the beck and call of outsiders.”Īs details of the suicide emerged, Murphy’s mayor, City Council and most of its residents learned for the first time that potential molesters were being lured to their city. “The fact that somebody besides police officers were involved is what makes this case bad,” said Roach, who was informed of the sting in advance but did not participate. (AP Photo/Ron Heflin) Ron Heflin / APĪs for the rest of the cases, he said neither police nor NBC could guarantee the chat logs were authentic and complete. It's the first time in nine \"To Catch A Predator\" stings around the country that prosecutors didn't pursue charges _ a fact that further angers city leaders who didn't know about the operation beforehand. After months of questions about evidence, Collin County, Texas prosecutors say none of the men arrested will be tried. This house in Murphy, Texas, shown in a Jphoto, was used in a nationally televised show to ensnare would-be pedophiles remains vacant and is for sale. He said that in 16 of the cases, he had no jurisdiction, since neither the suspects nor the decoys were in the county during the online chats. Then, last month, Collin County District Attorney John Roach dropped all charges. His sister, Patricia Conradt, told the City Council that police acted as “a judge, jury and executioner that was encouraged by an out-of-control reality show.” As police knocked at his door and a “Dateline” camera crew waited in the street, Conradt shot himself.
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