If you refer to someone as a sacrificial lamb, you mean that they have been blamed unfairly for something they did not do, usually in order to protect another more powerful person or group.
He was a sacrificial lamb to a system that destroyed him.
sacrificial lamb in British English
(ˌsækrɪˈfɪʃəl læm)
noun
1.
a lamb that is ritually killed as an offer to a deity
2.
someone that is surrendered or metaphorically sacrificed for the good or benefit of something else
He was a sacrificial lamb to a system that destroyed him.
Examples of 'sacrificial lamb' in a sentence
sacrificial lamb
He is a bit of a sacrificial lamb.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
The sacrificial lamb once more.
The Sun (2010)
I'm guessing a lot of you will be enjoying the company of a sacrificial lamb next weekend.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
We all sense when we're being made the sacrificial lamb to somebody else's unhappiness.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
The City was angry - and the overseas business became a sacrificial lamb.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
The big question is, will Blank be the sacrificial lamb?
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Killed, actually, as a sacrificial lamb in the quango cull.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
I was the sacrificial lamb.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
If they are looking for a sacrificial lamb, they'd be better off going for a junior soap star.