|
Most of us have heard the terms
"accomplice," "accessory," and "aider and
abettor"--if only on TV. This article explains what these terms
mean, and how anyone who intentionally participates in a crime may be
held responsible for it.
Often people participate in crimes in
different ways and to different degrees. For instance, in a bank
robbery, one person may enter the bank and conduct the holdup, while
another person is waiting in the getaway car and a third person is
positioned at a different location as a spotter.
Principals and Accomplices
As a general rule, the law refers to the main actor in a crime as the
principal and to assisting persons as accomplices. Technically, an
accomplice is one who intentionally helps another to commit a crime.
Even if an accomplice does not carry out the crime, in the eyes of
the law the accomplice's pre-crime assistance makes him or her just as
guilty as the person who does the deed itself. For example, assume that
Lars Senny breaks into a warehouse and steals property belonging to the
warehouse owner. Hal Perr would be Lars' accomplice and just as guilty
as Lars if Hal takes any of the following steps to assist Lars to commit
the theft:
- Hal works in the warehouse, and drugs the warehouse nightwatchman
before leaving work on the day of the theft.
- Hal cuts the wires to the burglar alarm (or cuts a hole in the
fence) so that Lars can enter the warehouse without being detected.
- Hal is a designer of warehouses, and meets with Lars a week before
the theft to review warehouse layouts and exit routes.
- Hal rents a U-Haul and parks it outside the warehouse on the night
of the robbery.
- Knowing what Lars has in mind, Hal agrees to babysit for Lars'
infant child while Lars goes to the warehouse.
To prove that a defendant is an accomplice, the government must prove
that the he or she intentionally aided in the commission of a crime.
This means that the defendant must realize that the principal is going
to commit a crime and that the accomplice intends to help the crime
succeed.
| Accomplices,
Accessories, Aiders and Abettors, and Principals |
|
If John Keats had been a
lawyer instead of the author of the poem, "Ode on
a Grecian Urn," he might have written, "How
can one be an accomplice? Let me count the ways."
To distinguish the criminal culpability of one from
another, the common law developed specialized terms
for the various ways in which one could be an
accomplice. For instance, a "principal in the
first degree" was the person who actually carried
out a crime. A "principal in the second
degree" (an "aider and abettor") was a
helper who was present at a crime scene but in a
passive role, such as acting as a "lookout."
An "accessory before the fact" was a helper
who was not present at the crime scene. While some
state laws retain the common law terminology, few
states make any distinction between the criminal
liability of crime perpetrators and their accomplices.
All can be punished equally, whether they actually
perpetrate a crime or only help bring it about.
|
|
Accessory After the Fact
An accessory after the fact is someone who, knowing that a felon has
finished committing a crime (usually the crime has to be a felony),
helps the felon avoid arrest or trial. In most states, accessories after
the fact face far less punishment than accomplices or principals.
Conspirators
Conspirators are two or more people who agree to commit a crime. (The
distinction between accomplices and conspirators is that the former are
"helpers," while each conspirator is a principal.) Conspiracy
is a controversial crime, in part because conspirators can be guilty
even if the crime that they agree to commit never occurs. As a result,
conspirators can be punished for their illegal plans rather than for
what they actually do. As some protection against convicting people
purely for their private thoughts, in most states conspirators are not
guilty of the crime of conspiracy unless at least one of them commits an
"overt act." An "overt act" is an activity that in
some way moves a conspiracy into motion.
|
