Homework on This American Life

Please listen to the episode of This American Life on this page. On that page, either click the arrow below the picture of the airplane, or where it says "Launch Player" or "Download." The episode is one hour long.

I also strongly recommend reading a bit about the legal concept of entrapment before doing this assignment. The Wikipedia article should tell you what you need to know.

For questions 1-3, three people are listed. Each played an important role in the situation described in what you have listened to. For each of them, a) what is the most important thing they did (of all of the actions described in the episode), b) was that action morally wrong, and c) why or why not?

1. Lakhani (the person convicted for arms dealing)

2. Chris Christie (the U.S. attorney that prosecuted Lakhani, and now governor of New Jersey)

3. The juror who changed her vote from in Lakhani's trial

4. Is punishing Lakhani morally right/wrong/acceptable/obligatory (it may be more than one of these)? Why or why not?

5. Is it morally right/wrong/acceptable/obligatory (it may be more than one of these) to investigate people in the manner in which the FBI investigated Lakhani (specifically, for law enforcement to knowingly pressure people into trying to commit serious crimes)? Why or why not?