Screaming at The TV ( Again )

There was a story on Good Morning America this morning about Teens that are
( for whatever reasons )
helping the police ‘Catch’ Adults that agree to buy them Booze.
Is this Entrapment?
What is Entrapment?

One annoying aspect of this ‘Story’ was that the reporter was ‘going along with’ the police officers that were creating this sting operation. They brought up the question ( indirectly ) that this may have been considered an Entrapment operation, but then meekly accepted the lame denial that it wasn’t.
This was just another case of ‘So Called’ News Reporters/Investigators simply reading a script that the government had handed them.
Entrapment is when you trick someone into committing a crime that they would probably not ordinary commit.
The police are arguing that they are creatively catching criminals,
But what they are really doing is Creating Criminals.
Should the police be making criminals, rather than catching predeclared criminals?
Obviously in a situation like this; The teenager that asks an adult to buy them liquor is also guilty, but in a sting operation, in which the teen breaks the law to create an adult criminal, they are given a Get Out of Jail pass.
It is obviously very wrong to break the law to trick someone else into breaking the law.
In a case like this; The adult would probably not cruise through a neighborhood looking for teens with a few dollars, and then offer to buy them liquor.
This sort of ‘crime’ is always a crime of spontaneous opportunity.
But i would consider this Entrapment.
One aspect of this that the teenagers acting as ‘Pigeons’ or ‘Bait’ by the police, is at our first perusal, We would have to believe that the police are acting astonishingly irresponsibly by putting these children in situations with what they themselves are considering dangerous felons.
But aside from that; The teenagers are acting as the initial domino of a series of events which are entirely unpredictable.
One of the teens claimed that two of her friends were killed in a driving accident in which alcohol was a determining factor—
But what if the adult that she lures into buying her a six pack of beer has a warrant out for his arrest, and when confronted by the police, pulls out a gun and starts shooting. The police, bystanders, the buyer & the teen themselves may be in mortal danger, over what may reasonably be considered a minor misdemeanor.
This is why Entrapment is its most wrong. You are creating a situation in which anything crazy can happen, and there’s no way of knowing what the consequences of your game may be.
It’s a very dangerous tournament of chicanery.
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Obvious: It is wrong for anyone to use mind altering drugs and then participate in social engagements, such as driving cars or having sex,
But what is the more ethical solution?
The Store Owners should be cognizant of teenagers hanging around their liquor stores, and either chase them off, or report them to the authorities.
Do they have a right to just hang out anywhere?
Well, Yes; But they’d be chased off for their own good,
The alternative would be if the police arrived and waited for them to commit a crime of their own scheming.
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Another Story that was on this morning, was that of a store owner that shot a teenager that was engaging in an armed robbery of a store of some kind. There were two perpetrators, one was shot once in the head, and the other fled. The store owner ( or clerk ? ) that shot the first robber, gave chase to the second robber, but he apparently got away.
The owner/clerk then returned to the store and shot the wounded robber 5 more times.
He was charged with 1st Degree Murder, Convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
Did he do wrong?
It seems to me that he should have pleaded temporary insanity,
As anyone that is threatened with a gun, and is witness to others of their employee or coworkers being threatened with a gun, Should, Reasonably, be in an altered state of Ethical Sanity.
My Rule of Thumb is that when someone brings a gun to a party,
They have brought with them a new set of rules that rescind all prior mores of expected ethical behaviour, And if you’re able to get their gun away from them, Then you are free to use it however you’d like. The number of bullets they brought are your’s to use at your discretion.
And this applies to The Police as well.
That is; If a police officer draws and points his gun at you, are you obligated to just let him shoot you?
Or do the same rules apply as if they were the criminal?
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Curiously; i am fanatically against capital punishment,
Because once you have someone in custody, and It is Necessary to hold a trial to determine their guilt, because that guilt is uncertain, then you should be discreet & measured with your solutions.
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But if you are standing right there when a crime is being committed by someone,
then you -Know- that they are guilty. A trial is Not necessary !
It makes all the sense in the world to resolve the situation right then & there,
When are the facts are Irrefutable & All The Participants are Present ( ! )
In a perfectly sane & magnanimous world, you would be measured & Gentle with those that have misstepped with their criminal etiquette; But in the world that we live in, Things often happen more quickly than the careful administration of morality could be considered & applied.
You of course must eventually take & assume responsibility for your actions,
But you are also obligated to act decisively to control & remedy the situation that you are immediately involved in.
Hopefully; When your trial comes due; The jury will find that you acted reasonably, given the extraordinary circumstances and your necessity of acting quickly with a minimal amount of information.