Final Word from Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Black's Law Dictionary defines entrapment as "inducement of a person to commit a crime, by means of fraud or undue persuasion, in an attempt to later bring a criminal prosecution against that person." Aside for the part about prosecution, this comes close to what TV Nova and MFD did to MP Jan Morava of ODS to lure him into buying compromising photos of party colleague Vlastimil Tlustý. PM Mirek Topolánek was seemingly justified in coming out harshly against the sting operation, but he significantly diluted his message by initially putting much of the blame on Morava. To establish entrapment, Black's says, the defendant must show that he would not have committed the crime if it had not been for the fraud or undue persuasion. By blaming Morava and by allowing him to resign, Topolánek gave TV Nova and MFD a strong argument that they were in fact justified in their actions.[Czech Republic MF Dnes CME]
Glossary of difficult words
inducement - the act or process of inducing; persuading or influencing someone to do something;
undue - unwarranted or inappropriate because it is excessive or disproportionate;
to lure - to tempt a person to do something;
sting operation - a carefully planned operation, typically one involving deception.