I can live with the fact that the person I buy drugs from could be an undercover officer or informant waiting to bust me. I can also live with the fact that the hooker I pick up could be an undercover officer. I've even become comfortable with the fact that any number of my friends, family members, and co-workers could be forced to dig up dirt on others to get out of going to jail themselves. Let's face it, we've become a country of spies. And with tens of thousands of laws, almost everyone is guilty of violating something. But, I never thought I would see the day when a candidate for elected office was an FBI informant running a fake campaign to dig up dirt on crooked campaign workers.
Saturday, December 10, 2005
When you know the whole informant thing has gotten out of hand
Others have discussed this, but Cicero at To the People made the point about snitches best:
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2 comments:
Grits,
See the definition of agent provocateur at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_provocateur
Haven't we reached that stage where the current way informants are used at every level is more harmful than the crimes they're used to solve.
Informant handling at the FBI is not exactly a local or state problem; and it seems to me the problem starts at the top, working it's way down.
Unless I missed something, all of the defendants in the Tulia drug investigation were indicted and charged by a prosecutor who had to review reports, indict each defendant, and prepare to prosecute each defendant based on Coleman's evidence.
Under that theory, deception is completely acceptable until it's time to control the informant, write reports, submit evidence, and truthfully testify in court.
Ummmmmmmmm.
Shall we have a moment of silence for the most famous "Snitch" of them all?
We know him easily by his first name.
Judas.
Just a friendly, money smart guy with his own agenda.
Judas Iscariot.
Is the story of the cunning, friendly, greedy betrayer a profound parable or did it really happen? Or both?
For money, for revenge, for the thrill of it all, "Somebody's goin' down".
Police and immense government are not a good way to protect us against our perceived vices or personal choices in general.
When those "vices" of the truly dangerous hate and anger filled "sane" people or the deeply disturbed mentally ill evolve to the point that they involve kidnapping, some assault, murder, rape or some theft or destruction...then it's time for the boys and girls in blue to answer the call.
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