Court Opinion

ID: 9610716
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 03:46:17.758415+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:01:04.266889
License: Public Domain

Evans, Judge,
dissenting in part.
I dissent from Division 2, wherein the majority holds the trial court was not required to charge on entrapment. It is my opinion that under the evidence, applying the correct law thereto, the trial judge was bound to charge the jury on the defense of entrapment.
The defendant testified under oath and denied all sales except the illegal sale of drugs on October 12. Defendant contended that while he did take money from the state’s decoy, whom he recognized as a "junkie,” his purpose was to buy drugs for the decoy; that he did so because the "junkie” said he was sick; he looked sick; he had needle marks on his arm, and defendant knew what it was like to have withdrawal pains of a "junkie.”Defendant contended that because of having been deceived by the decoy, he used the money to purchase drugs from another *24for the decoy.
Clearly this raises the issue of entrapment. "Entrapment as a Defense” is set forth in Code Ann. § 26-905 as follows: "A person is not guilty of a crime if by entrapment his conduct is induced or solicited by a government officer or employee, or agent of either [,] for the purpose of obtaining evidence to be used in prosecuting the person for commission of the crime. Entrapment exists where the idea and intention of the commission of the crime originated with a government officer or employee, or with an agent of either, and he, by undue persuasion, incitement, or deceitful means, induced the accused to commit the act which the accused would not have committed except for the conduct of such officer (Emphasis supplied.)
The language of our Code closely parallels that used by the U. S. Supreme Court in Sorrells v. United States, 287 U. S. 435 (53 SC 210, 77 LE 413, 86 ALR 249) where the defense of entrapment was recognized. In Sherman v. United States, 356 U. S. 369 (78 SC 819, 2 LE2d 848) it is stated that entrapment occurs when the criminal conduct is the product of the creative activity of law enforcement officials. See also Jones v. State, 101 Ga. App. 851, 852 (4 c) (115 SE2d 576) where our court held that entrapment is a total defense.
It is the duty of the trial judge to charge the jury on every material issue in the case (Pass v. State, 95 Ga. App. 510 (2) (98 SE2d 135)).The trial court erred in refusing to charge on the subject of entrapment, even without a request, because the evidence here demanded it. This issue was raised, not by an unsworn statement of defendant, but by his testimony under oath. When the issue of entrapment is raised the defendant is entitled to have the jury pass on the credibility of the entrapment defense under proper instruction from the court.
The majority opinion declines to recognize the entrapment defense, and contends it was the mere setting of a trap into which the defendant fell. Of course! That is exactly what entrapment is. The majority opinion, on pages 22 and 23, cites and relies on Sutton v. State, 59 Ga. App. 198, 199 (200 SE 225), to show that the state is entitled to set a trap for the defendant, and also that the *25defense of entrapment, as pleaded in the Garden of Eden (that "The serpent beguiled me and I did eat”), was not then allowed by Christian ethics, nor now by any code of civilized ethics, to give indemnity to the culprit.
But this argument by the majority mistakes and confuses the premise upon which entrapment may be pleaded. Entrapment is allowed as a defense against the prosecutor (or the state or the government), only when the prosecutor (or the state or the government) is alleged to have entrapped the defendant. Entrapment is not available as a defense if some third person, who is not acting as an agent of the prosecutor, state or government, entraps the defendant. Code Ann. § 26-905 provides that when the idea of the crime originates with an officer or agent of the state, who by undue persuasion, incitement, or deceitful means, induces defendant to do something he otherwise would not have done, then the defense of entrapment is available as a complete defense.
In Holy Writ, the Lord God occupies the position of the prosecutor, or the state, or the government. God did not send His agent into the Garden of Eden to entrap Adam and Eve. To the contrary, the serpent was working the other side of the street, acting on his own volition, and as an agent of the Devil. Therefore, the woman could not say to God that your agent deceived me, but her plea was that, "The serpent beguiled me and I did eat.”
The serpent was not the agent of the Lord God, he was the agent of the Devil — he was on the other side from the government, and indeed the serpent himself came under heavy criticism and condemnation for his wrongful conduct, as follows: "And the Lord God said unto the serpent, 'Because thou has done this, thou art cursed above all cattle and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel.’ ” Genesis 3:14-15. In the present case, if defendant had been entrapped by someone completely disconnected with the state — a serpent, for instance, — he would not be allowed to raise the defense of entrapment. He would be in a position similar to that of Adam and Eve — entrapped by the forces *26of evil, but not by the Lord God, nor by an agent of the state.
Further, in the Sutton case, the defendant in his statement, specifically contended he did not participate in the offense charged, and it was held that because of such contention the trial judge had no duty to charge on entrapment. If defendant did not commit the act, of course, he could not have been entrapped. Further, the facts are in no wise similar to the facts in the case sub judice. In Sutton, supra, the decoy claimed he was getting over a drunk, felt bad, and needed whiskey. A whiskey hang-over can not be equated with the withdrawal pains which afflict a drug addict when he can not obtain the drugs at the time they are needed. Here, defendant saw the needle marks on the decoy’s arms, and had familiarity with the use of drugs, and therefore, knew of the intense mental and physical agony that such drug addict suffers when he can not get the drugs. In Sutton, supra, it was held: "A suspected person may be tested by being offered an opportunity to transgress in such a manner as is usual therein but may not be put under extraordinary temptations or inducements.” (Emphasis supplied.) It is quite plain that the sworn testimony of defendant in this case created an issue for the jury to pass upon as to the defense of entrapment. The sworn testimony was sufficient to enable the jury to find that: (1) The idea of commission of the crime originated with a government agent. (2) The agent used undue persuasion, or incitement, or deceitful means, to induce defendant to purchase the drugs. (3) Defendant would not have purchased the drugs but for the conduct of the decoy-agent. This fully complies with Code Ann. § 26-905.
The majority cites, but does not discuss, a number of authorities on pages 22 and 23. Briefly, we shall discuss them and show that each is easily distinguished and differentiated from the case sub judice. One factor that is in most of them is that defendants in the cited cases did not admit participation in the alleged criminal acts. We repeat, if a defendant did not commit the act, he can not claim he was entrapped into doing something that he says he did not do.
In the cited case of Hill v. State, 225 Ga. 117 (166 *27SE2d 338) procurement for prostitution is involved, and the evidence clearly shows that only the opportunity to commit a crime was offered by the state, without any undue persuasion, incitement or extraordinary temptations or inducements.
In McKibben v. State, 115 Ga. App. 598, 599 (155 SE2d 449), the defendant did not admit participation in the alleged wrongful acts, nor did he defend on the theory of entrapment, but merely contended entrapment was shown. It also differs widely on its facts from the case sub judice. In Allen v. State, 120 Ga. App. 533 (4) (171 SE2d 380), it is not shown that defendant admitted a prima facie case and a defense solely on entrapment, nor do the facts show entrapment. In Brooks v. State, 125 Ga. App. 867 (189 SE2d 448), from which opinion this writer dissented, the defense offered by the defendant was that he had no interest in the sale whatsoever, was not "concerned” in the purchase and sale, and contended he was an agent of the state in making the purchase; and that the court should have given the written request to charge on procuring agent as taken from the Federal decisions therein cited. Again, entrapment was not shown. In Garrett v. State, 133 Ga. App. 564 (211 SE2d 584), the court stated that ". . . it must mean something more than repeated requests for contraband drugs, . . .” (emphasis supplied) which does not measure up to the law as set forth in Code Ann. § 26-905. In Brown v. State, 132 Ga. App. 399 (208 SE2d 183), the decoy policewoman did nothing but stand on the street, and when approached, told the defendant to move on and repulsed his advances before the crime occurred. The defendant testified that the policewoman decoy "smiled” at him, but refused to admit that he did anything to her, and contended that he ran on the approach of the other officers, thinking he was going to be robbed. By no stretch of the imagination could this be entrapment.
For all of the foregoing reasons, I respectfully contend the trial judge should have charged on the defense of entrapment, and I dissent from the majority opinion in this case.