In order to establish a defense of duress, an accused individual must show that he acted under an immediate threat of death or serious bodily injury, that he had a well-grounded fear that the threat would be carried out, and that he had no reasonable opportunity to escape or inform the police.

It is a defense to a prosecution under any federal statute that, at the time of the commission of the acts constituting the offense, the accused, as a result of a severe mental disease or defect, was unable to appreciatethe nature and quality or the wrongfulness of his acts.

One who expresses an honestly-held opinion or an honestly-formed belief cannot be charged with fraudulent intent even though the opinion turns out to be erroneous or the belief is mistaken.

In order to assert this defense, an accused individual must prove…

Yes. Although it is frequently said that ignorance of the law is no excuse…

Examples of this defense include the following.

An accused person may claim that she was mistaken about an essential fact and therefore did not have the criminal intent necessary to commit the crime.

This defense focuses on the actions of government officials and not on the predisposition of the accused.

An entrapment defense requires two elements: governmental inducement of the crime; and a lack of predisposition on the part of the accused.

This is a variety of conditions tending to show that a person accused of committing a federal crime is not guilty of that crime.