| 1 | %% Image replaced per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1442321317012945200 |
| 2 | %% Please do not change or remove without starting a new thread. |
| 3 | %% |
| 4 | [[quoteright:275:[[Webcomic/LeagueOfSuperRedundantHeroes https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/2013_11_07_strip_286.png]]]] |
| 5 | |
| 6 | ->'''Tagon:''' Can we plead "that's not how we did it?"\ |
| 7 | '''Massey:''' Maybe you can ask for a recess while the defense runs around in a panic. |
| 8 | -->-- ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'' |
| 9 | |
| 10 | When one comes across a FrameUp, the usual assumption is that the victim of the frame is innocent. Sometimes, however, [[WoundedGazelleGambit this is not the case]]. |
| 11 | |
| 12 | Framing the Guilty Party usually takes one of four forms: |
| 13 | |
| 14 | * '''Framing a Known Guilty Party:''' You know who the bad guy is, but there's not quite enough evidence to prove it, so the cops/prosecutors either create the evidence or allow someone else to create it and/or perjure themselves in order to convict them. If the Good Guys get away with it because the Bad Guy deserves it, it's PayEvilUntoEvil. |
| 15 | |
| 16 | * '''Framing an Unknown Guilty Party:''' Person A frames Person B for some reason ({{revenge}}, [[IrrationalHatred personal antipathy]], [[ItAmusedMe lulz]], deflecting suspicion from Person A and/or his friends, etc)... and it turns out that Person B ''[[AccidentalTruth actually was]]'' the bad guy who really did commit the crime. |
| 17 | |
| 18 | * '''Framing a Party known for being Guilty of something else:''' Person A commits a crime and frames Person B, but Person B is guilty of other, possibly just as severe crimes that he or she got away with — at times, it’s exactly this guilt that makes them so easy to frame. |
| 19 | |
| 20 | * '''Framing Yourself:''' The guilty party plants enough evidence to make themselves a suspect, and either does the frame-up so incompetently that it's obviously a frame-up, or later somehow exposes the "frame-up". The goal of this maneuver is usually that the guilty party will be put beyond suspicion, on the basis that the real culprit tried to frame someone innocent; this may lead genuine evidence incriminating the guilty party to be disregarded, on the assumption that it was also planted, or else cannot be prosecuted without violating laws against [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_jeopardy double jeopardy.]] However, sometimes there are more complicated motives, such as drawing unwanted attention to the ''actual'' culprit by forcing an investigation into "your" crimes. |
| 21 | |
| 22 | Unsurprisingly, while the first form can be considered TruthInTelevision (how true it is obviously depends on how corrupt your local police force and prosecuting counsel are), the second one is almost always pure fiction, often something of a ContrivedCoincidence. If someone trying to frame themselves pulls it off, the character is typically on the way to MagnificentBastard status, although there's always the risk that if the investigators don't fall for the fake frame-up (either by [[TooDumbToFool not realizing it's a frame in the first place]], or realizing the frame was faked), [[HoistByHisOwnPetard the perp has provided evidence proving their own guilt]], in which case it's more of an IdiotBall. |
| 23 | |
| 24 | Compare BluffingTheMurderer[=/=]EngineeredPublicConfession, in which the evidence to convict the guilty party is created by somehow tricking them into doing something revealing rather than via a frame. See also: FrameUp, for implicating the innocent with false evidence. Framing Yourself can also overlap with SarcasticConfession. Someone who takes the frame at face value, and therefore suspects the guilty party, is RightForTheWrongReasons. Contrasts ThenLetMeBeEvil, the case when the framed party commits atrocities ''because'' they are framed. |
| 25 | |
| 26 | WARNING! Although spoiler tags are used below, even the unspoiled mention of works could give away major developments. Proceed at your own risk! |
| 27 | |
| 28 | ---- |
| 29 | !!Example Subpages: |
| 30 | [[index]] |
| 31 | * [[FramingTheGuiltyParty/KnownGuiltyParties Framing a Known Guilty Party]] |
| 32 | [[/index]] |
| 33 | ---- |
| 34 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 35 | !!Framing an Unknown Guilty Party |
| 36 | |
| 37 | [[folder:Anime & Manga]] |
| 38 | * In one of the dubbed episodes of ''Manga/CaseClosed'', the killer is a woman named Tina. Her boyfriend found the crime scene and saw that the victim wrote "Tina" in his own blood as he lay dying, so the boyfriend changed the message to "Ringo", hoping to deflect all suspicion onto an innocent person who probably wouldn't have an alibi. Then ''Ringo'' found the crime scene and changed the message again to point to... you guessed it. |
| 39 | ** The original Japanese version the killer's name is Mame, which the victim wrote in kanji. The boyfriend added extra strokes which changed the character to "Leading man", implicating an arrogant actor. Said actor added even more strokes, changing the characters to "Shinto statue", obliquely implicating Mame who was raised at a Shinto shrine. |
| 40 | [[/folder]] |
| 41 | |
| 42 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 43 | * In ''ComicBook/FromHell'', PhonyPsychic Robert Lees, in retaliation for a personal slight, leads Inspector Fred Abberline to Sir William Gull's home, claiming he's had visions of Gull committing the [[UsefulNotes/JackTheRipper Whitechapel murders]]. He is shocked speechless when Gull confesses to the crimes. Years later, still shaken, he admits to Abberline, "I made it all up, and it all came true anyway. That's the funny part." |
| 44 | [[/folder]] |
| 45 | |
| 46 | [[folder:Films — Live-Action]] |
| 47 | * The protagonist of ''Film/KindHeartsAndCoronets'' spends most of the film coldly and methodically killing off the entire aristocratic D'Ascoyne family. In the end, [[spoiler:his jealous girlfriend tips off the police that he is the murderer... of ''her husband'', who in fact committed suicide on a completely unrelated note. It evolves into a Category 3 in the end. Almost. Probably]]. |
| 48 | * ''Film/NoWayOut1987'': |
| 49 | ** Commander Farrell's girlfriend is killed accidentally by the Secretary of Defense, who blames a [[RedHerringMole Soviet spy]], setting off a Pentagon WitchHunt. Farrell has to find proof who the real killer was before evidence turns up showing he had slept with her, and thus be accused...not only because he didn't commit the crime, but because [[spoiler:he ''is'' a Soviet spy.]] |
| 50 | ** The man who ends up being blamed for the killing (the politician's aide) was not actually guilty of that (or of being a mole), but had committed ''multiple'' illegal acts in the course of the coverup, including at least one actual murder, and is the primary villain of the movie. |
| 51 | * A slight variant of Category 2 is in the film ''Film/BeyondAReasonableDoubt''. A crusading newspaper editor (John [=McIntire=]) wants to prove that the death penalty can cause an innocent man to be executed. He hatches a bizarre plot with his star reporter (Dana Andrews): the editor will plant false evidence indicating that the reporter is guilty of a recent unsolved sex murder. After the reporter is arrested, convicted, and sentenced to death, the editor will come forward with proof that the evidence was falsified, forcing the authorities to release the reporter. Amazingly enough, the reporter agrees to this. The first twist comes when the editor is killed in an accident, and the evidence destroyed before he can clear the reporter. The second twist comes when it develops that the reporter is the actual murderer. |
| 52 | * An example of this being done to a good guy happens in ''Film/TheDukesOfHazzard'' film. To get the Dukes out of the way, the cops plant a still at their home. As the Dukes are known moonshine smugglers, it's questioned why the cops ''had'' to frame them in the first place. Daisy explains that the cops are just too stupid to find the real one. |
| 53 | * An interesting example of the criminal himself suggesting the framing. In ''Film/{{Hannibal}}'', the titular character is escaping from Mason Verger's farm where he was going to be killed when Mason shows up with his personal physician. He orders his doctor to go into a pit filled with [[FedToPigs man-eating pigs]] to get a gun and shoot Hannibal. When the doctor refuses, Mason threatens to expose the doctor's role in his crimes. Hannibal says, "Hey Cordell! Why don't you push him in [the pit]? You can always say it was me." He then proceeds to do so. |
| 54 | * Done in the climax of the Mexican film ''Film/TodoElPoder'', after the protagonists used a doctored video of the (supposedly kidnapped but in reality dead) DirtyCop confessing his crimes to expose and blackmail his CorruptBureaucrat boss; however, the boss attempts to turn the tables when he's presented with the evidence, as he shoots his [[ShootTheHostage underling's body]] (not realizing that he was already dead) and then announces that tomorrow the newspapers will report the arrest of the "dangerous gang of kidnappers" led by the protagonist but "unfortunately the brave cop lost his life in line of duty". The protagonist then reveals that he [[IHaveYourWife also kidnapped the boss' wife]] as a backup plan after the DirtyCop died of a heart attack before getting an actual confession from him. |
| 55 | * ''Film/TheUnjust'': After the Seoul police shoot a SerialKiller suspect in the head during a chase, the corrupt police department decides to get a fall guy. Detective Choi picks almost at random one Lee Dong-seok, an ex-con, and gets some thugs to torture Dong-seok into confessing. Eventually the cover-up spirals out of control, four people are murdered including Dong-seok, and there is a massive public scandal. Then at the end DNA analysis reveals that actually Lee Dong-seok was guilty of the serial murders. |
| 56 | * ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail'' has the infamous witch trial, where a group of peasants, by all appearances, just grabbed a random woman and dressed her up in a witch costume because they wanted to {{burn|TheWitch}} something. They seem to have no evidence aside from one guy who claims [[BewitchedAmphibians she turned him into a newt]] ([[BlatantLies "I got better."]]), until Sir Bedivere administers a test that reveals she is indeed a witch. She shrugs it off with "That's a fair cop." |
| 57 | [[/folder]] |
| 58 | |
| 59 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 60 | * In Creator/MarthaWells's ''The Death of the Necromancer'', one of the villains framed an innocent man for murder and necromancy. As a consequence, the hero[[note]]the adopted son of the condemned man[[/note]] spends the novel trying to frame him, so that he too will be executed for a crime he didn't commit. [[spoiler:The hero finally tricks him into shooting a magically animated corpse.]] |
| 61 | * Donald Westlake wrote a novella called ''A Travesty'' that has the murderer (also the narrator) being framed for the murder he committed [[spoiler:by the detective because the murderer has been having an affair with the detective's wife]]. |
| 62 | * While the crime is not something [[DeliberateValuesDissonance we would recognize as a crime]] and the frame-up consists of simply an anonymous accusation (Nazi Germany ''was'' something of a PoliceState), Creator/HarryTurtledove's ''In the Presence of Mine Enemies'' has a woman in an unhappy marriage accuse her target of adultery of being a Jew after he says no. At that point in the novel, we have already found out the man is a member of the secret underground Judaic community of 21st century Nazi Germany, and that one of the things that made him say no was thinking such a relationship could have endangered the secret (the other is that he is {{happily married}}). |
| 63 | * In ''As Good As Dead'' by Holly Jackson, the main character murders a man in self-defence and with the help of her friends successfully frames an antagonist who was declared innocent in court of rapes she knew he had committed. |
| 64 | * In ''Literature/{{Pronto}}'' by Creator/ElmoreLeonard, [=McCormick=] frames bookie Harry Arno for skimming from his Mafia bosses in order to force him to testify, correctly predicting Jimmy Cap would try to kill him for it. Ironically, Harry actually had been skimming Jimmy's money. |
| 65 | * ''Literature/TheAIGang'': When one of Black Glove's transmitters is found in Euterpe's rocket, Dr. Hwa finds it easier to blame enemy agent Ramon Korbuscek, who's known to have also attempted to tamper with the rocket, for its presence than to accept that the mysterious agent Black Glove is behind it. [[spoiler: Naturally, it's yet another effort by Hwa to throw suspicion off himself, since he ''is'' Black Glove.]] |
| 66 | [[/folder]] |
| 67 | |
| 68 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 69 | * ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'' |
| 70 | ** In the pilot mini-series, Gaius Baltar, desperate to get any hint of involvement in the Cylon Attack off himself, randomly picks someone who had access to the bridge (Aaron Doral, the PR guy) as being a Cylon. Guess what? |
| 71 | ** Later in the first season, Cylon agent Shelly Godfrey gives the Fleet doctored photos of Baltar destroying the Colonial defense mainframe, thereby facilitating the genocide of mankind. After the frame-up is discovered, Baltar's ''actual'' and unintended role in providing the Cylons covert access to the defense network remains unknown until late in the third season. And even then, no one can prove it, so very few people know about it in the first place (they find other things he has done to go after him for). No one actually has hard, non-drug-vision-based evidence of his wrongdoing until he confesses to Laura Roslin halfway through the final season. |
| 72 | ** Eventually, Baltar is put on trial for the Cylons' disastrous occupation of New Caprica. It really was his fault, but not for the reason they think. He gave Cylon agent Gina Inviere the nuke whose radiation signature ultimately led the Cylons to the planet, but no one else knows that, and his only collaborations with the Cylon regime during the occupation were under duress. The witnesses have to resort to perjury to make the case against him, as none of the prosecutors know what he's actually guilty of, and he's ultimately acquitted. |
| 73 | * In ''Series/BurnNotice'' episode "Mind Games" Michael tries to convince loan shark Wallace that his thug Carter is an undercover Police Officer, even hiding a kit in his house. Wallace has Carter's house searched, but instead finds Carter's real kit, [[UndercoverCopReveal revealing he was an FBI Agent the whole time]]. Being good guys, Michael and the gang take it upon themselves to both save his life and complete the job. |
| 74 | * ''Series/TheCaesars'': In "Claudius", the sixth episode, Capito tries to save himself and his son Bassus from being tortured to death for allegedly conspiring against Emperor UsefulNotes/{{Caligula}} by offering to name his fellow conspirators. They include Caligula's dancing teacher Mnester, patricians Callistus and Vitellius, and Caligula's wife Caesonia; the last name allows Caligula to see through the lie, and Capito and Bassus are both killed. However, Callistus and Vitellius actually ''were'' conspiring against Caligula, and organise his assassination by the {{Praetorian Guard}} at the end of the episode. |
| 75 | * ''Series/{{CSINY}}'': |
| 76 | ** Det. Burn considers this with a serial rapist in season 2. Goes so far as cutting open an evidence bag from a previous attack. Ends up costing her her job. |
| 77 | ** A former FBI colleague of Jo's actually goes through with it in trying to catch another rapist in season 8. |
| 78 | * In ''Series/DowntonAbbey'', footman Thomas Barrow takes a disliking to the recently hired Nanny West for being unkind to him and lies about seeing her neglecting her duties. When Lady Grantham checks in on her, she discovers the nanny has in fact been abusing one of the children under her care. Lady Grantham gives all credit to Barrow for uncovering the nanny's abuse. |
| 79 | * PlayedForLaughs in ''Series/TheGoodPlace'': |
| 80 | -->'''Young Eleanor:''' I work two after-school jobs because you blew half my college fund bailing your boyfriend out of jail.\ |
| 81 | '''Doug Shellstrop:''' So irresponsible!\ |
| 82 | '''Young Eleanor:''' And you blew the other half framing her boyfriend.\ |
| 83 | '''Donna Shellstrop:''' It was so stupid! He was already guilty, dumbass! |
| 84 | * One episode of ''Series/{{Hunters}}'' depicts three SS officers investigating an old couple suspected of hiding Jews and murdering a previous SS team who were looking for them. They find no evidence of this, but one of them, wanting the house and needing to find a solution to the case, guns the couple down and convinces the others to say that the couple were guilty. Unknown to him, the couple actually were hiding Jews and had murdered the missing SS men to conceal that fact. |
| 85 | * ''Series/{{Leverage}}'': In "The Hot Potato Job", the crew kick off a mole hunt to distract their target's security from their real heist. The "suspects" they call in for questioning are just employees whose security passes they need to steal. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, one of them actually ''is'' a mole and confesses when interrogated, ending the distraction earlier than planned.]] |
| 86 | * ''Series/{{Merlin|2008}}'': In "[[Recap/MerlinS02E07TheWitchfinder The Witchfinder]]", the title character [[TheWitchHunter Aredian]] is summoned to conduct a WitchHunt after a citizen of Camelot reports someone conjuring a horse made of smoke in a forest outside the kingdom, as the use of magic in Camelot is [[BurnTheWitch punishable by death]]. It later transpires that Aredian operates by framing the innocent, forcing {{False Confession}}s out of them and pocketing the money after they die. In the course of the story, he tries to frame Gaius, [[TheHero Merlin]] and Morgana for magic use without knowing that they ''actually are'' magic users, and almost succeeds with Gaius until his scheme is exposed. |
| 87 | * In an episode of ''Series/MurderSheWrote'', a distraught father who came upon his daughter's body, apparently murdered by a local art thief, rearranges the scene to frame his [[spoiler:son-in-law. Turns out his son-in-law ''was'' the murderer, and he was attempting to frame the art thief]]. |
| 88 | * The ''Series/PerryMason'' episode "The Case of the Madcap Modiste" used a fifth version of the scenario: ''Accidental'' framing of an unknown guilty party. Charles Pierce is arrested and accused of poisoning his estranged wife Flavia, and his girlfriend Hope Sutherland tries to plant evidence to exonerate him. Hope was trying to make it look like Flavia committed suicide, but the evidence planted ends up getting Flavia's employee Leona Durant accused of the murder. Unable to stand by and let an innocent person be convicted because of her, Hope confesses. Only it turns out that Leona really ''did'' kill Flavia (albeit accidentally [[MurderByMistake while trying to poison Hope]]), something Perry proves. |
| 89 | * ''Series/{{Scandal}}'': In "Hell Hath No Fury", Pope & Associates takes on the case of a man charged with rape. Harrison discovers that the man's accuser had a best friend who killed herself after being raped by their client, and the accuser is framing him for her own rape as revenge. While the client beats the rape charges, Olivia is able to convince his mother to turn him over to the police for the rape he actually committed. |
| 90 | * In ''Series/{{Spooks}}'', it's revealed that Adam Carter once infiltrated Syrian intelligence. A Syrian officer was close to exposing him, so Adam fabricated evidence that the officer was an Israeli mole. As it turned out, he was one. Oops. |
| 91 | [[/folder]] |
| 92 | |
| 93 | [[folder:Tabletop Games]] |
| 94 | * In ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'', Sun-Tzu Liao accused Victor Steiner-Davion of having replaced Thomas Marik's son, Joshua, who was in Victor's realm undergoing medical treatment for leukemia, with a body double. Unbeknownst to Sun-Tzu, who was just trying to stir up trouble for his most hated rival, Joshua actually ''had'' died and been replaced with a body double while a panicking Victor tried to figure out what to do, as he was foolishly afraid that Thomas would cut off the military aid Victor needed to refit his forces after the damage they'd suffered during the Clan Invasion. Thomas was an extremely honorable ruler and had Victor been honest with him he wouldn't have done anything simply because it was against his principles, but he was justifiably furious over the attempted deception and launched a military campaign against Victor that caused significant damage. |
| 95 | * Lots of frame-ups in the roleplaying game ''TabletopGame/{{Paranoia}}'' (which specifically encourages frameups) wind up being Category 2, mainly because just about everyone is guilty of ''something''. |
| 96 | [[/folder]] |
| 97 | |
| 98 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 99 | * In ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrange'', at the end of Chapter two when [[spoiler:Max, David, Nathan, and Jefferson are discussing Kate's suicide attempt in Principal Wells's office]], the player has the option of blaming any of the other three characters. Of the three, the easiest is [[spoiler: Jefferson for it based on an argument observed between Kate and him shortly time before the incident occurred (which was clearly what pushed her, because of his [[BlamingTheVictim unusually callous lack of sympathy]], but had nothing to do with the crime that made her suicidal in the first place)]]. The other two options (or not blaming anyone) are trickier, as you need to have some evidence for the accusations (otherwise Max will be suspended), making it seem like an easier, but worse option. [[spoiler: However Jefferson is indeed the BigBad, and the one who drugged and photographed Kate (with Nathan as his accomplice, and the one who actually killed Rachel Amber), and in hindsight was clearly deliberately trying to push her to eliminate a loose end.]] |
| 100 | * ''Videogame/Persona5'': [[spoiler: Akechi is Shido's paranormal assassin, killing anyone to further Shido's agenda and anyone who Shido's richest supporters want dead, all in a bid to become Prime Minister. As Akechi is not known to be an affiliate of Shido by anyone but a select few (who will be dealt with first) Shido's plan is to let him take the blame for all the murders he did, leaving out that they were all on his own orders, after which Akechi will be killed himself to prevent any leaks]] |
| 101 | * ''VideoGame/TamrielRebuilt'': The quest [[spoiler: ''Belated Justice'']] features a somewhat twisty example of this if you push for a guilty sentence: the evidence you present to finally tip the scale to guilty is accurate (it doesn't actually say anything about the crimes themselves, but are important since they provide motives), but in the course of acquiring it you would have learned information that comes close to confirming the alibi (that a Daedric doppelganger committed the crimes, something that is known to have happened with other people at the time -- the person was seen in two places at the same time during the critical evening). The twist that places it in this category? [[spoiler: The person imprisoned ''is'' the Daedric doppelganger, who somewhere along the way forgot that they weren't the real article, something you do not learn unless you get him executed.]] |
| 102 | * In ''VideoGame/TownOfSalem'', there are several ways for this to happen. One way is for the Framer role to frame someone for being part of the mafia, while that person is ''actually'' a different evil role. There's also the [[DeathSeeker Jester]] SpringtimeForHitler; Jesters want to make the town think they're evil, and one easy way to do that is to throw suspicion on random people, ending up looking suspicious yourself either by getting a townie executed or just making enough bad accusations. Of course, Jesters aren't part of the Mafia and don't know who ''is'', so it's entirely possible for them to nail a ''genuine'' Mafia member. |
| 103 | [[/folder]] |
| 104 | |
| 105 | [[folder:Visual Novels]] |
| 106 | * In ''VisualNovel/TyrionCuthbertAttorneyOfTheArcane'', [[spoiler:Tracker the dog made Marrunath drop the stolen Sword of Spell Eating (which Tracker thought was just a cool stick) and hid it in Beatrice's old bedroom, where he now lives. She becomes a suspect because the Inquisition found the sword there, and it turns out she ''is'' guilty, of both the sword's theft and William Frega's murder occuring on the same night.]] |
| 107 | [[/folder]] |
| 108 | |
| 109 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 110 | * Happens completely by accident in ''Webcomic/DumbingOfAge'' when Penny, who got caught having sex with a student and was getting fired, retaliated by accusing Jason of doing the same... not knowing he ''had'' slept with Sal. |
| 111 | -->'''Penny:''' Wait, you actually ''were''?! Well damn, I only told them that for funsies. |
| 112 | * In ''Webcomic/KevinAndKell'', Angelique and Kevin's father try to frame each other for killing Sid, and both are convinced the other did it. [[spoiler:It turns out that Danielle was on a mission to assassinate Sid, and he accidentally shot himself with her gun when she couldn't bring herself to do it. Her father then decides to [[TakingTheHeat take the blame in her place]], since his frame-up was the one that was more accepted.]] |
| 113 | * A variant occurred in a ''Webcomic/SomethingPositive'' story arc. Kharisma had been trying to kill a very rich, very evil, and very old man because he made a bet with her: if she managed to kill him within a certain time period, she would inherit all his money. He survives all of her murder attempts because he's just that evil, only to die of natural causes just before the time limit expired. However, she is arrested and convicted of his murder anyway. And she doesn't help herself by ''[[TooDumbToLive bragging about the bet every chance she got]]''... |
| 114 | [[/folder]] |
| 115 | |
| 116 | [[folder:Web Videos]] |
| 117 | * During [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GavN2qSwzD4#t=8m08s one]] group LetsPlay of ''VideoGame/TroubleInTerroristTown'', WebVideo/{{Markiplier}} jumps to his death and promptly claims LetsPlay/{{Mangaminx}} killed him, causing the others to attack her. It turns out she actually was the traitor for that round. |
| 118 | -->'''Markiplier:''' Minx didn't actually kill me, but god you guys went for it. |
| 119 | [[/folder]] |
| 120 | |
| 121 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 122 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'': |
| 123 | ** In the premiere episode, there is a double-whammy example of this trope. The eponymous secret agent wants to erase the fact that he's been misappropriating government funds to fuel [[HookersAndBlow his playboy lifestyle]], so he hastily contrives a reason that might convince others to let him secretly access the mainframe: "I'm on a mole-hunt!" It doesn't work as intended. Instead, this causes the real mole to make a run for it, pay for his getaway using Archer's account, and ultimately get blamed for all of Archer's financial discrepancies. |
| 124 | ** Our "hero" is accused of fathering an illegitimate son with a prostitute. His blood is drawn for the paternity test, but he secretly swaps the sample with blood from his co-worker so that the sample won't match the child's DNA. It turns out that his co-worker was the real father, making the samples match, and everyone believes that Archer is the father. |
| 125 | * ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'': One of [[ConspiracyTheorist Dale]]'s fears is that if they found Boomhauer's car, the police will investigate, and as part of the government they are gonna pin the crime on him. And since he did it, they'll succeed. |
| 126 | [[/folder]] |
| 127 | |
| 128 | [[folder:Real Life]] |
| 129 | * May have happened in the real-life murder of Sunny von Bulow. The legal team, desperate to find out that the man they were representing (Sunny's husband Claus) was not a hopelessly amoral killer, were pleased to discover persuasive logic that a key piece of evidence against Claus had been fabricated — most likely planted by Sunny's family, who hated Claus and were convinced of his guilt. The piece of evidence in question was a needle used for an insulin shot — but the trouble was, the insulin was found on the outside of the needle. If the shot had been administered, there would not be insulin on the outside of it, meaning that the needle must have been dipped into insulin but not used. Testimony from one of the maids was also brought into question due to her interactions with the family's attorney. However, this didn't mean he didn't do it; the family may well have simply framed a guilty man. In the end, Claus was found not guilty, partially due to the rejection of hearsay evidence and the fact that the coma could not be proved to have been caused by insulin, and partially because Sunny herself had overdosed on aspirin not three weeks earlier, leading to questions about her state of mind. |
| 130 | * Mob hitman (and later informant) Donald Frankos claims that he was convicted of a murder [[NotMeThisTime he didn't really commit]] on the basis of perjured eyewitness testimony. According to him, he always wore a disguise when committing contract killings. In his memoir, he dryly notes that "if I had done it, he wouldn't have been able to identify me" would not have made a good defense in court. |
| 131 | * The controversial case of John Demjanjuk, as depicted in the Netflix documentary ''The Devil Next Door'', ended up being an example. Demjanjuk, an elderly Ukrainian man living in the United States, was accused by the Israeli government of being a Nazi collaborator known as "Ivan the Terrible", a guard at the [[UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust Treblinka extermination camp]] who had operated the GasChamber and was notorious for his brutality and sadism. A widely-publicized trial convicted Demjanjuk, but the conviction was quashed by the Israeli Supreme Court after it was revealed that the Israeli government had withheld evidence conclusively proving that "Ivan" was not Demjanjuk, but another Ukrainian named Ivan Marchenko; they had misidentified Demjanjuk and would rather send him to prison for life than admit their mistake. However, when the source of the confusion was further investigated, it was discovered that "John" Demjanjuk was really ''Ivan'' Demjanjuk (hence the confusion with Marchenko), a Nazi collaborator who had worked at a different extermination camp, and Demjanjuk soon found himself back in court. |
| 132 | [[/folder]] |
| 133 | |
| 134 | ---- |
| 135 | !!Framing Yourself |
| 136 | |
| 137 | [[folder:Anime & Manga]] |
| 138 | * ''Manga/CaseClosed'': |
| 139 | ** One murderer drew a letter on the wall pointing towards herself in the victim's blood, but the victim was killed instantly and thus couldn't possibly have drawn it. This also allowed her to use her own skeet shooting gun without worrying about fingerprints (since anyone in the club could have accessed it) or gun powder residue (since she had used it earlier anyway). |
| 140 | ** Another made it look like he had killed the victim (a fairly accomplished swordsman) in a swordfight by cutting up the room (cutting way too much and too randomly while purposefully leaving a certain statue intact to implicate another suspect) and leaving a sword clenched (the wrong way) in the victim's hands. This was also done in an attempt to hide the dying message left by the victim while his back was turned. |
| 141 | * ''Manga/TheKindaichiCaseFiles'' has one. [[spoiler:A hanged chicken dripping blood to a math test answer sheet (which points the whole prank to the only teacher owning that answer sheet) complete with rumor that said teacher was the one starting the prank, her being in in the same closed room as the first victim, and the prep school building's dark past related to her grandfather all point at the math teacher. It turns out that she's really the killer, deliberately spreading rumors about her involvement and constantly placing herself as the one with highest possibility for being the killer while preparing plausible false deduction for Kindaichi in order to get away with her crime.]] |
| 142 | [[/folder]] |
| 143 | |
| 144 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 145 | * ''Fanfic/AllThingsProbableSeries'': In ''A Friend in Darkness'', [[EvilCounterpart Grimm Probable]] lets WesternAnimation/KimPossible find a binder full of evidence implicating [[ThePsychoRangers Team Probable]] in villainous schemes. Fortunately, [[MissionControl Wade]] sees through the trap — the evidence is all forged, and if investigated closely, would appear to implicate Wade as the forger. |
| 146 | * ''Fanfic/{{Paradoxus}}'': Bloom's sudden disappearance in the [[Recap/ParadoxusCapitulo03 third chapter]] sends both Domino and Eraklyon into a tizzy. Due to Eraklyon's civil war against warlord Yoshinoya, he's their main and only suspect, which leads to his execution at Queen Daphne's hands. Unfortunately for him, while he's guilty of terrorism and kidnapping, he's got nothing to do with Bloom's situation; [[spoiler:that's Eudora Budhartil's fault]]. |
| 147 | [[/folder]] |
| 148 | |
| 149 | [[folder:Films — Live-Action]] |
| 150 | %%* This trope makes up the twist ending to Creator/FritzLang's last American film, ''Film/BeyondAReasonableDoubt''. |
| 151 | * ''Film/TheLifeOfDavidGale'' has an alternate motive for this: [[spoiler:the eponymous character planted evidence to frame himself specifically so that additional evidence created to exonerate him would only be found [[AcquittedTooLate after he was found guilty and given the death penalty]], thus turning public opinion against capital punishment by being an example of a wrongfully-executed man. He, the victim, and an accomplice staged the whole thing from the start.]] |
| 152 | * The Spanish film ''Film/KillingWords'' is about a professor who makes it look like his ex-wife has framed him for her murder and skipped town, when in reality he murdered her. |
| 153 | * In ''Film/FreddyVsJason'', [[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet Freddy Krueger]] resurrects [[Franchise/FridayThe13th Jason Voorhees]] and tricks him into killing a few kids in Springwood, Ohio, with the intent of taking credit for Jason's murders (since the adult residents will assume it's him). Unfortunately for Freddy, the titular conflict begins when Jason [[KillSteal keeps going at it]]. Unlike other examples of this sub-trope, Freddy fully intends to take credit for the first few kills since the people's fear of him gives him the power to murder at his leisure. |
| 154 | * Threatened in the climax of the 1994 Creator/{{HBO}} movie, ''The Enemy Within''[[note]]A remake of ''Literature/SevenDaysInMay''[[/note]]. The protagonists confront General Lloyd (Jason Robards), telling him to call off their coup attempt. Lloyd laughs them off, stating that by the time they could actually move against him, [[YouAreTooLate the Vice-President would've already been sworn in]], completing their coup. Colonel Casey (Forrest Whittaker) tells Lloyd that either he calls the coup off... or ''he'll'' confess: He'll paint himself as one of the conspirators and spill everything he knows (and as a "conspirator", everything that would've been hearsay becomes first-hand testimony). Lloyd angrily tells his people to stand down. |
| 155 | [[/folder]] |
| 156 | |
| 157 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 158 | !!!'''By Author:''' |
| 159 | * Creator/AgathaChristie did this several times: |
| 160 | ** It was pretty much the central premise of ''Literature/TheMysteriousAffairAtStyles'', where the murderer goes to elaborate lengths to frame himself for the murder of his wife, acting shifty, having public tiffs with her, being seen purchasing the poison, openly enjoying his newfound wealth, etc... albeit keeping a rock-solid alibi up his sleeve. The plan was to get speedily tried on a wave of public outcry, whip out the alibi at the last second, be found innocent on that shocking revelation alone, then be forevermore protected by the Double Jeopardy rule (in Anglo-Saxon law, one can't be tried for the same crime twice). Literature/HerculePoirot foils this plan by refusing to allow the man's arrest until he has true evidence of his guilt. |
| 161 | ** Also, in ''Literature/TowardsZero'', culminating in a complex ''double'' set of framing: first, the real killer framed himself, clumsily, and then put together a much more professional set of planted evidence pointing at someone else. The desired end result was that the second suspect would be hanged for murder; the actual murder victim was only a means to an end. |
| 162 | ** A variation is used in the short story (and later film version) ''Witness for the Prosecution'', where a witness frames herself so her testimony ''against'' the defendant is later exposed as false, to help free him instead. |
| 163 | ** In ''Literature/TheMurderAtTheVicarage'', the killers plant several clues to make it look like the victim was shot at the exact time when one of them came to the crime scene to see the victim. The police are meant to see through these clues and assume the crime was committed later. |
| 164 | ** It's attempted by one of a pair of murderers in ''Literature/DeathOnTheNile'', but in such a clumsy fashion that Poirot sees through it before it can be a serious red herring, and the other killer is actually afraid that the stupidity of it is going to end up working against them. |
| 165 | ** In ''Literature/OrdealByInnocence'', the killer makes sure he would be the prime suspect, then creates an alibi to mislead the police into thinking that someone else is trying to frame him. Unfortunately for him, his alibi fails. |
| 166 | !!!'''By Work:''' |
| 167 | * ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'': The Klatchian agents in ''Literature/{{Jingo}}'' plant sand and Klatchian coins at a crime scene to convince Vimes that they ''weren't'' involved. Sure enough, when Vimes reads Colon's report, he sarcastically comments "All that's missing is the box of dates and the camel under the pillow!" |
| 168 | * ''Literature/HonorHarrington'': In ''At All Costs'', Havenite politician [[spoiler:Arnold Giancola]] plants obviously manufactured evidence that (correctly) names him as the one responsible for altering diplomatic correspondence which started the war all over again. Fortunately, the Pritchart administration picks up on this fact and never makes the evidence public. |
| 169 | * Subverted in ''Jade Dragon'', where Literature/TheShadow investigates a frame-up so obvious the authorities will likely conclude the man is innocent, but a sleuth who goes a step further soon realizes that's exactly how a clever enough criminal could get away with murder. The real crook, though, went a step further than ''that'', adding increasingly subtle evidence against the guy... |
| 170 | * In Creator/JohnLeCarre's ''Literature/TheSpyWhoCameInFromTheCold'', the hero is sent by [=MI6=] to East Germany to frame East German spycatcher Mundt as a British [[TheMole mole]]. [[spoiler:Except the British have actually discredited his "evidence" deliberately because Mundt ''really is'' TheMole for them, meaning that if Mundt is accused of being TheMole in the future, [[CryingWolf no one will believe it]].]] |
| 171 | * ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'': Discussed in ''[[Literature/XWingSeries The Krytos Trap]]'' -- Tycho stands trial for [[spoiler:Corran's]] murder. The evidence against him is overwhelming, but both sides suspect that much of it was manufactured by Imperial Intelligence. The question is whether he is innocent and made to look guilty by a frame, or guilty and made to look innocent by a "clumsy" frame. In the end, the victim was alive the whole time (the Imperials [[FakingTheDead faked his death]] and took him prisoner) and [[spoiler:General Cracken, a member of the tribunal, knew that Tycho was innocent (of this particular crime) and [[DecoyTrial held the trial to give New Republic Intelligence time to locate the real spy]]]]. |
| 172 | * ''Literature/TheThinkingMachine'': The 'frame yourself' version is done by the murderer in [[spoiler:"The Fatal Cipher"]]. The killer plants a lot of false evidence to implicate themselves, relying on Van Dusen to discover that this evidence is fake, and then find the second set of false evidence they planted to implicate their chosen patsy. The entire scheme ends up verging into ComplexityAddiction. |
| 173 | * ''Literature/TheTreesOfPride'' has an interesting variant on this effect. The local doctor needs Squire Vane to be declared legally dead in order that his daughter may inherit the Squire's estates and cut down a grove of poisonous trees (the Squire suffers from an extreme case of ScullySyndrome, and [[IRejectYourReality is unwilling to accept any amount of evidence]] corroborating the folk tales regarding the tree's lethality). He talks the Squire into going on a secret vacation for a few months, then plants evidence to indicate that the Squire was murdered and that he was the murderer. Since he could easily halt any prosecution by simply producing the Squire alive and well, he knew that he personally ran very little risk. |
| 174 | [[/folder]] |
| 175 | |
| 176 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 177 | * In ''Series/TheBlacklist'', [[spoiler:Anna [=McMahon=]]] creates the appearance of collusion with a terrorist organization in order to shine a light on its activities. |
| 178 | * In ''Series/BostonLegal'', Alan Shore defends his ex-girlfriend and fellow lawyer Phoebe's husband Robert on charges of murder. Having told Alan her husband never left the house on the night of the murder, Phoebe changes her story on the stand. After Robert gives Alan dirt on Phoebe offscreen, he later invokes [[Series/ThePractice "Plan B"]], accusing Phoebe of committing the murder, although unlike the usual Plan B, Alan believes Phoebe may have actually done it. As planned, this creates enough reasonable doubt to get Robert acquitted. Phoebe admits afterwards that she intentionally made it look as if she was trying to get Robert convicted and got Robert to tell lies about her to Alan, knowing what he'd do. Robert (whom they all but admit is guilty) could always protect Phoebe by admitting his guilt, as he's protected by double jeopardy. Phoebe's faith that he would do that is possibly misplaced, but she points out that he probably wouldn't need to, as there's no real evidence against her because she didn't do it. |
| 179 | * In season 4 of ''Series/BreakingBad'', Walt gives Jesse a rare poison known as [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricin Ricin]] in hopes that he will use it to kill Gus Fring. [[spoiler:When it later appears that Jesse's girlfriend's son has been poisoned with the Ricin, Jesse immediately assumes Walt is responsible due to nobody else knowing about it. However, Walt points out to him that he has nothing to gain by poisoning the boy. He then reasons that since the only thing keeping Gus from killing Walt is that Jesse refuses to cook meth for him if he does, Gus must have somehow found out about the Ricin and poisoned Brock with it in hopes of turning Jesse and Walt against each other. This convinces Jesse to side with Walt again, but the final scene of the season reveals Walt was responsible for poisoning Brock after all (albeit with a "lesser" poison — Lily of the Valley).]] |
| 180 | * ''Series/{{Bones}}'': When Bones's father is tried for the murder of an FBI agent, the team wants him to walk because he did it to protect Bones. It's unlikely the jury would buy a "defense of another" argument for justifiable homicide due to the particulars of the case, so they craft an alternate theory of the crime that [[CrimeOfSelfDefense Bones herself did it]]. This creates enough reasonable doubt that the jury acquits her father. |
| 181 | * ''Series/{{Columbo}}'': In "Publish or Perish," Riley Greenleaf's way of killing an author who's about to leave him for another publisher is to hire another guy, Eddie Kane, to do it, and have Kane plant an orgy of evidence against himself while Greenleaf carefully stages an alibi, to try to convince the police that someone is trying to frame him. Unfortunately, he plants too much evidence and some of it doesn't fit (literally). |
| 182 | * In ''Series/CriminologistHimuraAndMysteryWriterArisugawa'' this turns out to be the twist of "A Study in Vermilion", though it isn't revealed as such until the end of the next related case. [[spoiler:Yohei is found dead in an apartment complex, and the most likely culprit is his family friend Mutobe. Himura deduces that Mutobe was framed by the actual culprit... only for it to later be revealed that the actual culprit was Mutobe, who deliberately framed himself knowing that Himura would take the case and absolve him of suspicion.]] |
| 183 | * ''Series/FatherBrown'': The murderer does this in [[spoiler:"The Brewer's Daughter"]]; laying out an OrgyOfEvidence against themself, then relying on Father brown to realise this evidence was planted, and then uncover the second more subtle set of clues planted to implicate someone else. |
| 184 | * The ''Series/JonathanCreek'' episode "[[spoiler: Demon's Roost]]" has a flashback to the "[[spoiler: striped unicorn]]" case, in which the murderer arranges things so that it looks like he ''must'' have killed his wife, but plants evidence towards a more complicated solution that suggests he's being framed, relying on Jonathan to be so used to [[LockedRoomMystery Locked Room Mysteries]] that the idea the only other person in the room was the murderer would actually strike him as ''less'' likely. And it worked; Jonathan only figures it out during the present-day scenes. |
| 185 | * Category three is utilized in the ''Series/LawAndOrderCriminalIntent'' episode "Eosphoros" (fittingly, since the show is more psychological and frequently deals with self-styled {{Magnificent Bastard}}s and [[TheChessmaster Chessmasters]]). The killer intentionally plants evidence against him (his fingerprints on a packet of ketchup that was at the crime scene), then gives the detectives a prepared explanation for it. This almost succeeds in getting him off the hook, too. |
| 186 | * ''Series/MissionImpossible'': The episode "The Mind of Stefan Miklos" had a two-for-one variation: the Americans have been using a foreign mole in their intelligence service (Townsend) by [[FeedTheMole feeding him bad information]] that he unwittingly passes on, but another spy (Simpson) in the ring is a rival and discovers proof that the information is bad, accusing Townsend of being a double agent for the Americans. The investigator, Miklos, who the foreign intelligence service is sending to ferret out the truth, is believed to be far too competent to fall for an attempt to frame Simpson, so instead the team frames ''Townsend'', depending on Miklos to see through their con, and come to the conclusion that the only reason the Americans would frame him would be to discredit the information he had passed on and have Townsend's own people eliminate him. As a bonus, the failed frame-up implicates Simpson as having been involved, leading to a Category 1 variation, since Miklos concludes that ''he'' must be a double agent and was assisting the Americans in the attempted frame. |
| 187 | * In the early ''Series/{{Monk}}'' episode "Mr. Monk Meets Dale the Whale", the titular Dale the Whale arranges for his physician, Dr. Christiaan Vezza, to murder a judge named Catherine Lavinio who issued a costly antitrust ruling against Dale, then stage the scene to make it look like Dale did it, including a 911 call fingering him as the murderer and a neighborhood girl seeing a morbidly obese man disconnecting a smoke alarm in the house. This is completely impossible, because not only is Dale too fat to move, he couldn't even fit through the victim's door if he could, because he's basically like a ship in a bottle. In this case, the motive was seemingly ego- Dale wanted to look [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney so rich and powerful]] that he could have a judge murdered, and have everyone know he did it, [[KarmaHoudini and yet still get away with it]] because nobody could ''prove'' it, a plan that backfired since Monk figured it out and also because his physician [[EvenEvilHasStandards hates his guts]] and resented being blackmailed into committing the murder in the first place, and has no problem testifying against Dale when caught. |
| 188 | * ''Series/MurderSheWrote'': |
| 189 | ** In [[spoiler:"Murder Takes The Bus"]], a character eventually confesses to a stabbing murder, but Jessica then states that he is guilty only of ''attempted'' murder because an amateur forensic analysis was sufficient to reveal that the victim was already deceased when the stabbing occurred. She later realizes that the character had committed the murder all along, hoping that confessing to a stabbing that a coroner would easily find was not the cause of death would prevent anyone from realizing that he had committed the strangulation that actually did kill the victim. |
| 190 | ** In [[spoiler: "Murder in High C"]], the murderer shoots the victim with his own gun, silenced, in a room he knows won't be disturbed. A few hours later he fires a couple of blanks without the silencer, and is found kneeling over the body holding the gun, having made sure Jessica is there to spot the inconsistencies. |
| 191 | * In the ''Series/MurdochMysteries'' episode "[[spoiler: Manual for Murder]]", the killer discovers that someone is deliberately ruining his life, murders everyone else involved, and makes sure Murdoch learns he has reasons to resent them all, knowing that he'll see through the obvious solution, discover the architect of his misfortune, and conclude framing him was the final step of this plan. |
| 192 | * ''Series/PerryMason'': "[[spoiler:The Madcap Modiste]]" has a variant when someone ''accidentally'' frames the real killer while planting evidence that was supposed to suggest a suicide in order to get her boyfriend (the main suspect) off the hook. |
| 193 | * There was an episode of ''Series/ThePractice'' in which a white cop alleged that a black man walked up to him and confessed to being in possession of cocaine. The prosecution unsuccessfully argues that it's a self-framing job. The cop's partner asks the judge why he would make up such a ridiculous story, to which she replies that perhaps he did it precisely to open up that line of reasoning. Unlike the above example, it's revealed that the man was in fact guilty; he tells his lawyer that he did it in order to stop the cop from [[PoliceBrutality brutalizing]] another black man, correctly figuring that [[RefugeInAudacity no jury would believe it happened that way]]. |
| 194 | * ''{{Series/Probe}}'''s "[[Recap/ProbeMetamorphicAnthropoidicPrototypeOverYou Metamorphic Anthropoidic Prototype Over You]]": Someone has planted evidence that [[ThisBearWasFramed an orangutan]] (Josephine) had killed Louise with a gun. [[spoiler:Josephine was surgically modified to [[SuperIntelligence increase her intelligence]]. She has created a sign language and written language, and educated herself by watching TV. She murdered Louise because she was a romantic rival for Austin's affections, and planted the evidence because on TV, the [[RedHerring obvious suspect]] that everyone thinks did it at first, is always found innocent.]] |
| 195 | * An episode of ''Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles'' offers a sci-fi twist on the trope. Charles Fisher, who survived Judgement Day thanks to being in prison, later becomes a collaborator for Skynet and is rewarded by being sent back to live out the rest of his life before the war. It turns out Fisher's incarceration was thanks to a StableTimeLoop; he committed espionage, knowing that DNA evidence would implicate his younger self. |
| 196 | [[/folder]] |
| 197 | |
| 198 | [[folder:Visual Novels]] |
| 199 | * ''Franchise/AceAttorney'': |
| 200 | ** Subverted in ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyJusticeForAll'' case 2. [[spoiler: Mimi Miney frames herself for the murder of her former boss- because she's stolen her dead sister Ini's identity, and is thought to be dead herself. The victim died during an attempt to channel Mimi's spirit, so Mimi covertly took the medium's place to kill her boss, meaning that the FrameUp was ultimately on the medium (Maya), because if Maya really ''did'' channel Mimi's vengeful spirit then she's guilty of not taking proper precautions, and if she didn't then she's the only other person in a LockedRoomMystery. Either way, "Ini" escapes suspicion.]] |
| 201 | ** In the fan-made case ''Two Sides of the Same Turnabout'', Helene gets trapped in the crime scene at the time of murder due to chloroform being used on her to knock her unconscious. Helene proves in court that she was drugged, claiming that she was framed up, but the prosecutor is having none of it: he says that Helene used the drug on herself to make it ''look'' like someone else framed her up. [[SubvertedTrope It's eventually proven that Helene was right.]] |
| 202 | * ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc'' has a strange non-murder example in the second case. [[spoiler:Byakuya Togami isn't the murderer; however, he did rearrange the crime scene to frame someone else (a SerialKiller... who [[NotMeThisTime actually didn't do it this time]]), but he made sure to leave just enough evidence to frame himself for the framing. Turns out he did this to scout out who was most likely to catch him if he ever ''did'' decide to murder someone. And [[ItAmusedMe for the lols.]]]] |
| 203 | |
| 204 | [[/folder]] |
| 205 | |
| 206 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 207 | * ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansTroubleInTokyo'': The Titans Tower is randomly attacked by an assailant sent by a mysterious Japanese supervillain named Brushogun; but when they travel to Tokyo to investigate, the local police chief Daizo is an ObstructiveBureaucrat who denies that Brushogun even exists, and is busy leading a crack team called the "Tokyo Troopers" saving the city from bizarre monsters and other villains. It turns out that Brushogun not only exists, he was actually a ''prisoner'' of Daizo the whole time, and the Troopers and all of the monsters and villains were creations that Daizo forced the ageing Brushogun to make [[EngineeredHeroics so Daizo could play the hero]]. The only reason the Titans were attacked in the first place was Brushogun desperately trying to bring ''real'' heroes to Tokyo to rescue him from Daizo and foil his evil scheme. |
| 208 | |
| 209 | [[/folder]] |
| 210 | |
| 211 | [[folder:Real Life]] |
| 212 | * In 2015, Michigan Rep. Todd Courser admitted to writing up and sending out e-mails accusing himself of soliciting a male prostitute, because he was ''actually'' having an affair with fellow Rep. Cindy Gamrat and tried to muddy the waters with false accusations when the truth started to come out — the reason we know this is that one of his aides secretly recorded him [[JustBetweenYouAndMe explaining this plan]]. He was also alleged to have written up phony child abuse allegations, also against himself, earlier in his career in order to get himself sympathy votes when they were exposed as fraudulent. |
| 213 | * [[UsefulNotes/NazisWithGnarlyWeapons Nazi German General]] Albert Kesselring admitted to ordering the Ardeatine massacre of 1944, which it is now generally accepted he was not responsible for, in the apparent hope that the charges would be proven to be false and either discredit the whole process or at least distract the Allies from investigating the massacres he had ordered. [[HoistByHisOwnPetard This backfired spectacularly and he was convicted of the massacre he didn't order on top of his actual crimes.]] |
| 214 | [[/folder]] |
| 215 | |
| 216 | ---- |
| 217 | !!Other: |
| 218 | |
| 219 | [[folder:Anime/Manga]] |
| 220 | * ''Anime/Danganronpa3: Side Hope'' has a combination of Types 2, 3 and 4. [[spoiler:Class 77-B, now revived and freed of their despair brainwashing, pull a BigDamnHeroes to save the surviving members of the Future Foundation. However, if it got out to the public that the BigBad who orchestrated ''Side Future'''s killing game among the Future Foundation members was their own leader, people would lose all faith in the organization that's their best hope for pulling the world back together, so 77-B record a video claiming responsibility as the Remnants of Despair. They themselves are innocent, but the true mastermind had been manipulated by Chisa Yukizome, who was TheMole for the Despairs. So the Remnants of Despair ultimately ''did'' do it, but class 77-b didn't know it (type 2) and framed themselves (type 3) because the Despair organization made a good scapegoat (type 4) because they set up the previous two killing games.]] |
| 221 | [[/folder]] |
| 222 | |
| 223 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 224 | * ''Fanfic/BetterForLovingYou'': George Wickham hasn't done anything to Elizabeth personally, but he came very close to seducing Georgiana Darcy and swindling her out of a very large dowry, and he has a history of leaving large unpaid debts behind him, so Elizabeth wants him kicked out of her town -- but she doesn't want to embarrass the Darcys by revealing Georgiana's folly. So, after spreading truthful rumours about the debts, she arranges a public confrontation where she accuses Wickham of speaking shamefully to her, and even slaps him, which finishes the sinking of his reputation and results in him being confined to quarters by his commanding officer, essentially house arrest. |
| 225 | --> '''Elizabeth:''' He has much to answer for, but in this instance he is almost completely innocent. |
| 226 | * ''Fanfic/DanganronpaKommSusserTod'': Chapter 1's killer attempts to frame the infamous VigilanteMan [[VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair Sparkling Justice]] after discovering their identity -- even though [[NotMeThisTime for once, Sparkling Justice did not kill the victim]]. |
| 227 | * ''Fanfic/KarmasABitch'': Part of the reason Zoe is able to make her scam so successful is that she specifically targets people who are already guilty of other crimes, meaning that when she turns around and frames them for her own crimes after exposing them, no one is going to think twice about one more crime being added to the pile. |
| 228 | * ''Fanfic/OneMoreTrigger'': Diane is taken aback to be charged with underage drinking. [[spoiler:The Samaritans captured her along with Victor and Crusader, then Amy gave them high blood alcohol concentrations and had the three of them crash their car into the PRT building. Since Diane is also being charged with ''felony murder'' for her actions in costume as Othala, the Samaritans aren't going to feel bad about the false drinking charge.]] |
| 229 | * In ''Roleplay/SemperAdMeliora'', [[spoiler:Lelouch, Kallen, and Isaac Stadtfeld frame the majority of the Stadtfeld family for planning to assassinate the latter two over an issue of inheritance. Said family is actually guilt of ''treason'', having sold secrets to the Rus Republic several decades prior and still having channels open with the E.U. Lelouch arranged for this framing to ensure that Kallen and Isaac would retain their titles as Duke of Westhaven and Heir to said Duchy]]. |
| 230 | [[/folder]] |
| 231 | |
| 232 | [[folder:Films — Live-Action]] |
| 233 | * Zig-zagged all over the place in ''Blue Collar''. The three main characters attempt to rob some money from their union, but when they break into the safe, there isn’t any — the union has been skimming it, making illegal loans and working with organized crime. Nevertheless, the union claims that the money that should have been in there was taken so they [[MagnificentBastard can make an insurance claim]] and double dip. Faced with being pursued for a crime they did commit but from which they didn’t profit, the three men try to blackmail the union, and [[FromBadToWorse that drives the rest of the plot]]. |
| 234 | * In ''Film/{{Chicago}}'', one application of this trope gets two murderesses off the hook. [[spoiler:Sleazy lawyer Billy Flynn creates a fake diary that supposedly belongs to VillainProtagonist Roxie Hart, talking about how she killed the man she was having an affair with and how she was glad she did it. Co-conspirator Velma Kelly then presents it to the prosecutors of both cases, using it as a bargaining chip to get the charges against her dropped. When the diary is presented as evidence, however, Flynn points out that the diary is full of legal jargon — as though it had been written by a lawyer...]] |
| 235 | * ''Film/DelusionsOfGrandeur'': It's extremely unlikely that Don Salluste, who's old and solely interested in money, would have fathered a child with one of the Queen's handmaidens. In fact, he reacts with shock to the mere concept and heartily denies it.[[note]]In the original play, he himself notes what an idiot he was for doing so.[[/note]] However, considering he's utterly crooked and has been stealing tax money that belonged to the kingdom for years now, it's obvious the Queen has seized this pretext to finally put him into disgrace, rather than bother proving his actual crimes. |
| 236 | * In ''Film/HangmenAlsoDie'', [[spoiler:[[TheMole Czaka]] is innocent of the assassination of UsefulNotes/ReinhardHeydrich, but since he is a collaborator who betrayed the Resistance, they have no qualms about framing him for it anyway and letting the Gestapo deal with him.]] |
| 237 | * In ''Film/{{Hitman}}'', 47 is framed for the attempted murder of Belicoff. 47 in fact ''actually'' murdered Belicoff, but Belicoff was replaced with a double right after it happened since they wanted to keep Belicoff in power but also couldn't control the real one. 47, being one of the few privy to this knowledge, [[HeKnowsTooMuch had to be eliminated]]. |
| 238 | * {{Inverted|Trope}} in ''Film/SilverLode'' in the sense that an innocent party is exonerated by dishonest means. Rose and Dolly use a fake telegram from Discovery, California to "prove" Ballard's innocence and [=McCarty=]'s guilt. A genuine telegram which indeed confirms this is later received. |
| 239 | * ''Film/ReversalOfFortune'': Sunny's children frame Claus von Bulow -- but when one student exclaims that proves he's innocent, Alan and another student reply that the children might have framed the guilty party. The film never says whether von Bulow is guilty, but the ending strongly suggests he is. |
| 240 | * Subverted in ''Film/RuthlessPeople''. Sam was planning on killing his wife, Barbara -- but she was kidnapped before he could. That said, after the chief of police was unintentional blackmailed into investigating Sam (the "blackmailers" thought it was evidence of Sam killing Barbara; it was really the chief cheating on his wife and doing a hooker), his attempt to frame Sam is sidelined by his men finding the bottle of chloroform Sam intended to use and pics of Carol with Sam. |
| 241 | * The entire point of TheCaper in ''Film/{{Vabank}}'' is framing Kramer. He ''is'' a MorallyBankruptBanker who swindles people out of their money in such ways that the law is entirely helpless against, but one of his victims turns out to be an honest man who tries to out Kramer and gets [[NeverSuicide murdered for it]]. So Kwinto, who was friends with the man, decides to straight out rob Kramer's bank, frame Kramer for it, and give the money to his friend's widow anonymously. |
| 242 | [[/folder]] |
| 243 | |
| 244 | [[folder:Jokes]] |
| 245 | * Bob was having sex with his mistress. He noticed that he had stayed longer than he expected and got stressed. Took a piece of chalk, smeared his fingers and rushed out the door. At home, Alice was waiting for him. "Where have you been?" she asks. "I've worked overtime, you know" replied Bob. "Show me your hands," she exclaimed. She took one look at his hands and screamed, "you bastard, you spent the whole evening [[ConfessToALesserCrime playing pool again]]!" Other variations include talcum powder for bowling and grassy shoes for golf. |
| 246 | [[/folder]] |
| 247 | |
| 248 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 249 | * In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire'', [[spoiler:Barty Crouch, Jr. and the Lestranges are sentenced to Azkaban in an obvious show trial. While the Lestranges are obviously guilty (Bellatrix boasts that Voldemort will free them someday as she's dragged away), the reader is led to believe that Crouch, Jr. was innocent. Later, we find out that he actually was a Death Eater after all. It's unclear whether Barty Crouch, Sr. knew that his son was guilty (in which case this is category 1) or if he was just covering his own political ass (in which case this is category 2). Basically, it comes down to your own interpretation of how huge a {{Jerkass}} you think Crouch, Sr. was.]] |
| 250 | * In Creator/IsaacAsimov's story "Literature/MirrorImage" (set between ''Literature/TheNakedSun'' and ''Literature/TheRobotsOfDawn''), there is a dispute between two Spacer mathematicians about who stole the other's idea. The only witnesses are ThreeLawsCompliant [[RobotMaid Robotic Butlers]], one of whom was ordered to lie. So, Baley questions both robots (the mathematicians refuse to be questioned by a mere Earth policeman), and, suddenly, one of the robots [[LogicBomb shuts down]]. Baley explains how it means the robot was given orders to lie by his owner, thus producing a strain severe enough to shut it down. The owner promptly confesses. The catch is, both robots were under a strain, and Baley didn't know enough about robots to know that the lying one will have a harder time because of it. He had already formed an opinion on other grounds, and interpreted the evidence to support his conclusion and [[BluffingTheMurderer pressure the perpetrator into confessing]]. |
| 251 | * In ''Literature/FeetOfClay'', Vimes is investigating an arsenic poisoning, when he finds a packet of powdered arsenic and a bottle of booze in his office just as authorities suddenly arrive in response to a tip-off (and quickly realises their plan was to make him fall OffTheWagon and be found drunk with the evidence). Vimes's response is to hide the arsenic, play drunk and then "plant" some sugar on himself, then eat it theatrically in front of the authorities to make the frame-up look like a ''clumsy''(ier) frame-up. That's right, he ''framed his framers for framing him''. |
| 252 | * In Creator/AgathaChristie's ''The Market-Basing Mystery'' and ''Murder in the Mews'', [[spoiler:a suicide is made to look like a murder disguised as suicide with the intent of framing the person who drove the victim to take their own life]]. |
| 253 | * ''Literature/TheCountOfMonteCristo'': [[spoiler:Valentine's mother-in-law]] has left a glass of poison out for Valentine, and comes back in the middle of the night to remove the glass that contained the poison. Unfortunately, the Count was watching the whole thing, and after [[spoiler:giving Valentine a drug to fake her death]], replaces the poison in the glass. When Valentine's death is discovered the next morning, the doctor is called, the murderer comes in to see what all the fuss is about... and is unpleasantly shocked to see the doctor (who had his suspicions about the many deaths in Valentine's family lately) examining the glass for traces of poison, which he quickly finds. |
| 254 | * In Creator/StephenKing's ''Literature/MrMercedes'', Hodges and his helpers strongly suspect that [[spoiler:Brady]] is going to bomb a concert whose audience is primarily tween-age girls. Since they didn't exactly follow proper legalities in finding evidence, they know the police won't take that claim seriously. So Hodges [[spoiler:contacts a security guard he knows at the concert venue falsely claiming Brady's a known pedophile. Unfortunately, Brady's a jump ahead and [[ObfuscatingDisability well-disguised]].]] |
| 255 | * ''Literature/{{Perfidia}}:'' Dudley Smith successfully frames Fujio Shudo for the ritual murder of a middle-class Japanese family that forms the central mystery of the novel. Shudo is an AxCrazy drug addict and pervert with a history of sexual assault, though he is completely innocent of the murder he's being framed for. He makes for a very useful scapegoat, and no one mourns his railroading. |
| 256 | * ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'': |
| 257 | ** As part of a Wraith plan to expose the corrupt General Thaal in ''[[Literature/XWingSeries X-Wing: Mercy Kill]]'', one member is disguised as the general and kidnaps an actress, with some independent investigators arranged to find her a day later. However, the framing is thin enough that they don't really expect it to stick. The actual motive was twofold; first, the general really was planning on kidnapping the actress, so a fake kidnapping saves her from being in real danger. More importantly, news of this whole event will draw lots of media attention, so when the Wraiths expose Thaal's very real crimes, he won't be able to sweep it under the rug. |
| 258 | *** The squadron's master plan involves another variation on this; they've discovered that Thaal has plans for a complex procedure involving genetic modification to create a new identity, which he and his compatriots should undergo once they're ready to transition into a criminal empire. However, [[spoiler:the Wraiths figure out that Thaal has ''already'' undergone the procedure some time ago, and is merely in disguise as his normal self, able to disappear at a moment's notice if something ever goes wrong before they're ready. They turn his plan around on him by luring him to a place with lots of witnesses and then have an accomplice "discover" his disguise, convincing everyone that Thaal is actually an imposter who pulled a KillAndReplace on the "real" general.]] |
| 259 | [[/folder]] |
| 260 | |
| 261 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 262 | * ''Series/{{Andor}}'': In order to explain the irregularities in her banking records caused by her funding the rebellion Senator Mon Mothma has an argument with her husband accusing him of gambling recklessly again when she knows an ISB agent is listening in. This works particularly well because her husband does have a [[TheGamblingAddict gambling addiction]] and a history of getting in trouble with it. |
| 263 | * ''Series/BurnNotice'': |
| 264 | ** "[[Recap/BurnNoticeS1E8WantedMan Wanted Man]]": The team plans to get a crooked real estate developer caught with a diamond brooch he stole to shore up his investments and [[ClearTheirName clear the name of their client]]. After Plan A falls through, they figure out which bank he's going to take the brooch to for storage, and then set things up to look like he's trying to ''rob'' the bank. The police find the brooch when he's arrested for the robbery and their client is exonerated. |
| 265 | ** "[[Recap/BurnNoticeS3E4FearlessLeader Fearless Leader]]": Team Westen plants explosives of the same type used by Fiona in previous episodes to frame a gangster suspected in several robberies and murders for the bombings. This is done specifically to get an organized crime detective investigating the team off their backs: Michael tells Detective Paxson she can either take the win and leave him alone, or have the case against the thoroughly-deserving gangster fall apart. |
| 266 | * ''Series/{{Columbo}}'': The episode "A Friend In Deed" is all about a crooked police commissioner trying to frame a career burglar for a murder, then committing one himself to add to the charges. |
| 267 | * Averted in ''Series/{{Justified}}'': Raylan finds a witness to one of Boyd's crimes (who had previously refused to give evidence) and intimidates him into testifying, but stops cold when the witness asks for a picture so he knows who he's supposed to implicate. Turns out he didn't give a vague description because he was scared; he genuinely didn't get a good look. When he offers to commit perjury to help Raylan put Boyd back in jail, Raylan immediately turns him down. |
| 268 | * In one episode of ''Series/{{Hustle}}'', a [[DirtyCop crooked DI]] tried to extort 10 grand off a friend of the team, so they gave her the perfect opportunity to extort ''them'' — that she would get the proceeds of their con, or she'd call the cops on them. Except, of course, they rigged it so all the evidence would point to her pulling off the con by herself, and then called the cops on ''her''. Her original wrongdoing is never brought up. |
| 269 | * This was used in an episode of ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'' called "Repression." An 18-year-old girl recovered memories of her father molesting her when she was young and planted images of child pornography in her youngest sister's room, in the hopes that it would be enough to get him in prison. [[spoiler:Subverted when the investigation later learns that the memory that was recovered [[FakeMemories wasn't a real memory]], that her father never molested her or her two sisters. The typical SVU sadness kicks in because this was learned after her younger sister killed their father.]] |
| 270 | * In one episode of the original ''Series/LawAndOrder'', a police officer is killed, and initial evidence points to the priest who molested the officer when he was a boy. It turns out [[spoiler:the officer's death was actually a suicide that had been staged to look like murder by the responding officers, who had no idea about any of this and were just trying to preserve his reputation and his family's survivor benefits by hiding the fact that he killed himself; the fact that it pointed to someone who had a checkered past was a total coincidence.]] |
| 271 | * An unusual case of this in the ''Series/{{Monk}}'' episode "Mr. Monk and the Critic": Thanks to work from Monk and Natalie, the police suspect theater critic John Hannigan of murdering his girlfriend, Callie Esterhaus. So Monk, Natalie, Stottlemeyer, and Disher confront Hannigan at his office to question him about drugging and raping an underaged girl — specifically Natalie's daughter Julie. Hannigan denies the accusation and claims he has never seen Julie before. This gives him away because Julie was performing in the play Hannigan was using as his alibi for the murder, and at one point in the show, she has a solo, where she looks exactly like she does right now. The fact that Hannigan says he doesn't recognize Julie proves he wasn't at the theater at all and was committing the murder. Goodbye, alibi. |
| 272 | * Played with in ''The Lawyer'' to the point of [[DeconstructedTrope deconstruction]]. Frank Nordling frames an innocent party for heroin possession in order to keep his real target from skipping town. His plan is to represent the defendant and get the court to accept a plea that involves no jail time. Unfortunately, the police also find an unregistered gun, and what was supposed to be a quick means to an end spirals out of control. [[spoiler:Although Frank gets the gun charge tossed, Therese - who is bipolar - develops extreme anxiety during her time in custody and commits suicide. Additionally, Frank getting his sister Sara, a recovering addict, to plant the heroin backfires predictably when she keeps some of the heroin and relapses]]. |
| 273 | * ''Series/LeverageRedemption'': The villain of first two episodes is Fletcher Maxwell, the CEO of a drug company who sold addictive opioids to people, resulting in at least one of them dying. Since Maxwell gets cleared of any legal wrongdoing, the team decide to frame him for insurance theft. They accomplish this by breaking into eight museums, stealing a painting he has donated from each of them and swapping them out with fakes. They have Harry burn one of the paintings to make it look like Maxwell was trying to pull off an insurance scam, which the museum curator easily believes given Maxwell is already accused of essentially selling poison to people. |
| 274 | * One episode of ''Series/{{Bones}}'' has the team consider framing an innocent party to get the guilty party to plead. A woman with [[DiplomaticImpunity diplomatic immunity]] had killed the woman who'd been sleeping with both her husband and son. All the evidence could have also pointed to the woman's son as the murderer if the team just left out a few details. The hope was that she would confess and waive her immunity in order to protect her son. Booth ultimately decides not to go through with it, since it's still lying even though they don't intend to actually take the evidence to court. They convince the woman to plead because the alternative is handing the real evidence over to her home government so she can be tried there, where she'll most likely be killed in prison by her political enemies. |
| 275 | * ''Series/CriminalMinds'': The title of the episode "The Witness" refers to a man who saw Charlie Senarak commit a crime and is blackmailing him over it. [[spoiler: While it seems like Charlie is responsible for the gas attack on his wife's bus after finding out about her affair, it turns out that he'd actually killed his wife's lover the night before. The ''blackmailer'' and the lover were responsible for the gas attack, and with his accomplice dead, he decided to turn Charlie into his patsy, knowing that he'd still be culpable for the murder even if he tried to turn evidence against the blackmailer.]] |
| 276 | [[/folder]] |
| 277 | |
| 278 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 279 | * ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIVBlackFlag'': During the modern-day portions of the game, you play as an Animus researcher working for Abstergo who is coerced by a mysterious voice in IT to hack into various computers and deliver information to the Assassins. Later in the game, Abstergo gets wise to this and imprisons you and your co-workers while they investigate to find out who did it. During this time, however, [[spoiler:your IT contact, rather than being an Assassin mole in a Templar run business, reveals himself to be a lunatic reincarnation of Aita who's trying to get you possessed by a virtual ghost (that of the ISU Juno upon aka the goddess Juno in mythology and Aita's wife before his first death and reincarnations in humanity); when he fails at this, he tries to kill you and is shot dead by security while you are on the ground from a non-fatal drug dose right next to him making it look like he was trying to make it look like he killed the perpetrator to cover for himself]]. The circumstances of the aforementioned scenario and the evidence found in his files (and the fact that he is the Head of IT giving him access to places the player shouldn't technically be able to go in) is more than enough to divert all suspicion from you. So, in the course of trying to eliminate you, he frames himself for the crimes you actually committed, albeit at his behest. |
| 280 | * A very odd variation happens in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'' during the "Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts" quest. The "guilty" party is [[spoiler:Grand Duchess Florianne]] attempting to frame [[spoiler:her brother Gaspard]] for the murder of [[spoiler:Empress Celene]]. He has nothing to do with her plans, but he is making his own moves [[spoiler:by moving in chevaliers and mercenaries to lead a coup]]. While [[spoiler:Gaspard]] knows nothing of what [[spoiler:Florianne]] was planning, it is unknown if the reverse is true. Given that Orlais is a DecadentCourt where the nobility literally make a game out of political intrigue, it's more than likely [[spoiler:Florianne]] knew [[spoiler:her brother]] was up to something, even if she didn't know the exact details. |
| 281 | [[/folder]] |
| 282 | |
| 283 | [[folder:Web Comics]] |
| 284 | * In one ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'' arc, the good guys blew up a reality TV network, and planted evidence to frame its CEO for the disaster. They would have gotten away with it, but someone else planted even more evidence, framing them for being in cahoots with the (actually innocent) CEO. They had a lot of trouble defending themselves against the false charges because if they gave their real alibi, [[ShamefulSourceOfKnowledge they would have revealed their real crimes.]] |
| 285 | -->'''Tagon:''' Can we plead "that's not ''how'' we did it"? |
| 286 | [[/folder]] |
| 287 | |
| 288 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 289 | * Sort of used on ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad!'', when a series of [[HilarityEnsues improbable events]] happened to make Stan [[AbuseMistake look like a wife-beating]] [[MistakenForPedophile child molester]]. Stan's solution was to find somebody who, while innocent, ''[[AssholeVictim deserved]]'' the punishment anyway. They wound up framing it on a co-worker of Roger's who had screwed him over. The fact that the police found (legal) neo-Nazi apparel — and that the detective in charge of the case was a ''Holocaust survivor'' — was a rather handy bonus. Another bonus: Stan specifically describes his plan in a way that [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything seems to point to the U.S. overthrowing Saddam Hussein]], who likewise deserved to get overthrown even though he was innocent of the specific crime he was accused of. |
| 290 | [[/folder]] |
| 291 | |
| 292 | [[folder:Real Life]] |
| 293 | * [[https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=4545696783656636056 An interesting case in which a 17-year-old lad sent a series of sexually harassing text messages to a 22-year-old woman.]] The guy was arrested and charged with sexual telephone harassment, but apparently this wasn't good enough (possibly because sexual harassment is hard to prove, especially in a Juvenile Court), so the court instead had him prosecuted with a trumped up "Distribution of Child Pornography" charge (in reality, sending pictures of his own 17-year-old penis). [[LoopholeAbuse Something they had to exploit multiple loopholes in order to do, such as acknowledging the fact that there is no rule that an offender and victim cannot be the same person.]] In the end, he got 30 days confinement, 50 hours community service and had to register as a sex offender. [[note]] Whilst this is not the first time a child has been prosecuted for a self-made image, it is the only known case where the court went out of their way to get the child convicted. In a majority of cases, the court will either drop the charges or give the child the least harsh punishment they can. [[/note]] |
| 294 | [[/folder]] |
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