◆ SpookStack

officials who are corrupt, to deter others who might be tempted to be corrupt, and perhaps most importantly, to praise by negative example those who are honest and square- dealing. Without the availability of such tactics, only rarely would the government be able to expose and prosecute bribery and other forms of political corruptton. 6. Lack of Reliability. One of the central notions. running through the concepts of entrapment, governmental overinvolvement in crime, and due process violations for "outrageousness” is a deep judicial concern that juries' convictions be reliable measures of defendants’ culpability. Courts must intervene when conduct by a government agent, or for that matter by any other person, creates a substantial risk that the "guilty" verdict is not a reliable evaluation of what a defendant did. With these Abscam verdicts, reliability is high. In each of these cases the essence of the government's case was found on the videotapes. The full meetings with congressmen were recorded from start to finish, with no editing of the tapes either during or after the meetings. A more reliable basis for conviction can hardly be imagined. Through the videotapes the juries were permitted to see the actual crimes committed. - Compared to the ordinary rn A 64