I was suffering from depression and paranoia prior to receiving anonymous malicious emails which were threatening in naure and became blackmail. I was terrified and thinking irrationally rather than go to the police I decided to appease my blackmailer and meet the demands which involved improving the career progression of junior colleagues.

However the blackmailer was never saisfied so I then decided to carry out surveilance of the person I suspected. I also tried to trap the suspect by me pretending to be another person on facebook and trying to gather evidence by communicating. That was fraudulent and deceitful but I was very unwell ; psychotic, suicidal.

The moral outcome would be to discover and prove the identity of the suspect but the irrational means I used was immoral and I am therefore no better than the original culprit because I resorted to deception. But I was mentally unwell whereas he was not when blackmailing me.

Does the end justify the means ? Or is only a moral method the only way to achieve a moral ending ? What about undercover detectives ?