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Under the English
common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...
, an accomplice is a person who actively participates in the commission of a crime, even if they take no part in the actual
criminal offense In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...
. For example, in a bank robbery, the person who points the gun at the teller and demands the money is guilty of
armed robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...
. Anyone else directly involved in the commission of the crime, such as the
lookout A lookout or look-out is a person in charge of the observation of hazards. The term originally comes from a naval background, where lookouts would watch for other ships, land, and various dangers. The term has now passed into wider parlance. ...
or the getaway car driver, is an accomplice, even if in the absence of an underlying offense keeping a lookout or driving a car would not be an offense. An accomplice differs from an accessory in that an accomplice is present at the actual crime, and could be prosecuted even if the main criminal (the '' principal'') is not charged or convicted. An accessory is generally not present at the actual crime, and may be subject to lesser penalties than an accomplice or principal. At law, an accomplice has the same degree of guilt as the person(s) who committed the underlying crime, and is subject to the same level of
prosecution A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal trial ...
for the same crime, and faces similar criminal penalties. As such, the three accomplices to the bank robbery above can also to a degree be found guilty of armed robbery even if only one stole money. The fairness of the doctrine that the accomplice is still guilty has been subject to much discussion, particularly in cases of
capital crimes Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
. Accomplices have been prosecuted for
felony murder The rule of felony murder is a legal doctrine in some common law jurisdictions that broadens the crime of murder: when someone is killed (regardless of intent to kill) in the commission of a dangerous or enumerated crime (called a felony in s ...
even if the actual person who committed the murder died at the crime scene or otherwise did not face
capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
. In jurisdictions based on the common law, the concept of an accomplice has often been heavily modified by statute, or replaced by new concepts entirely.


Canada

Criminal law in Canada is governed by the
Criminal Code A criminal code (or penal code) is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that migh ...
, a federal statute. Parliament has abolished the concepts of accomplice and accessory, and instead created a single statutory concept, namely being party to an offence: :21. (1) Everyone is a party to an offence who ::(a) actually commits it; ::(b) does or omits to do anything for the purpose of aiding any person to commit it; or ::(c) abets any person in committing it. :(2) Where two or more persons form an intention in common to carry out an unlawful purpose and to assist each other therein and any one of them, in carrying out the common purpose, commits an offence, each of them who knew or ought to have known that the commission of the offence would be a probable consequence of carrying out the common purpose is a party to that offence. A person can become a party to an offence where they ''encourage'' another (the principal) with words or acts, and intend to encourage. Mere presence at the scene of an offence is not sufficient grounds for liability. More involvement is needed, such as: * encouragement of the principal * an act or omission that facilitates the commission of the offence * an act or omission which tends to prevent or hinder interference with the accomplishment of the offence. However, presence at the commission of the offence is ''evidence'' of aiding or abetting if accompanied by other factors.


United Kingdom

One of the most notorious cases of this type was the 1952 case in England involving
Derek Bentley Derek William Bentley (30 June 1933 – 28 January 1953) was a British man who was hanged for the murder of a policeman during a burglary attempt. Christopher Craig, then aged 16, a friend and accomplice of Bentley, was accused of the murde ...
, a mentally challenged man who was in
police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...
custody when his sixteen-year-old companion,
Christopher Craig Derek William Bentley (30 June 1933 – 28 January 1953) was a British man who was hanged for the murder of a policeman during a burglary attempt. Christopher Craig, then aged 16, a friend and accomplice of Bentley, was accused of the murde ...
, shot and killed a
police constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...
during a botched break-in. Craig was sentenced to be detained
at Her Majesty's Pleasure At His Majesty's pleasure (sometimes abbreviated to King's pleasure or, when the reigning monarch is female, at Her Majesty's pleasure or Queen's pleasure) is a legal term of art referring to the indeterminate or undetermined length of service of c ...
, since as a juvenile offender he could not be sentenced to death (he was released after serving ten years), but Bentley was
hanged Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging in ...
despite popular protest. The incident was dramatized in the film ''
Let Him Have It ''Let Him Have It'' is a 1991 British drama film directed by Peter Medak and starring Christopher Eccleston, Paul Reynolds, Tom Courtenay and Tom Bell. The film is based on the true story of Derek Bentley, who was convicted of the murder of a ...
'', which is what Bentley allegedly said to Craig during the incident, which can be interpreted either as telling Craig to shoot the policeman, or to give him the gun. The
hanging Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging i ...
of Bentley led to public outrage and sparked the MP
Sydney Silverman Samuel Sydney Silverman (8 October 1895 – 9 February 1968) was a British Labour politician and vocal opponent of capital punishment. Early life Silverman was born in poverty to a migrant Jewish parents from Jassy, Romania. His father was a ...
's campaign to abolish
capital punishment in the United Kingdom Capital punishment in the United Kingdom predates the formation of the UK, having been used within the British Isles from ancient times until the second half of the 20th century. The last executions in the United Kingdom were by hanging, and t ...
, achieved c. 1965.


United States

Aiding and abetting Aiding and abetting is a legal doctrine related to the guilt of someone who aids or abets (encourages, incites) another person in the commission of a crime (or in another's suicide). It exists in a number of different countries and generally allo ...
is a provision in United States
criminal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal law i ...
, for situations where it cannot be shown the party personally carried out the criminal offense, but where another person may have carried out the illegal act(s) as an agent of the charged, working together with or under the direction of the charged party, who is an accessory to the crime. It is derived from the
United States Code In the law of the United States, the Code of Laws of the United States of America (variously abbreviated to Code of Laws of the United States, United States Code, U.S. Code, U.S.C., or USC) is the official compilation and codification of the ...
(U.S.C.), section two of title 18: *(a) Whoever commits an offense against the United States is punishable as a principal. *(b) Whoever knowingly and willfully causes an act to be done which if directly performed by him or another would be an offense against the United States, is punishable as a principal. Where the term "principal" refers to any actor who is primarily responsible for a criminal offense. An accomplice was often referred to as an
abettor Abettor (from ''to abet,'' Old French ''abeter'', ''à'' and ''beter'', to bait, urge dogs upon any one; this word is probably of Scandinavian origin, meaning to cause to bite), is a legal term implying one who instigates, encourages or assists a ...
.''See, e.g.,
United States v. Peoni ''United States v. Peoni'', case citation, 100 Federal Reporter, F.2d 401 (2d Cir. 1938), was a criminal case that the prosecution must establish that the mental state (mens rea) of an accomplice to a crime include a purpose to aid or encourage, ...
'', 100
F.2d The ''Federal Reporter'' () is a case law reporter in the United States that is published by West Publishing and a part of the National Reporter System. It begins with cases decided in 1880; pre-1880 cases were later retroactively compiled by W ...
br>401
(2d Cir. 1938), applying a prior statute that penalized any person who "aids, abets, counsels, commands, induces, or procures" the commission of a crime.
This term is not in active use in the United States, having been replaced by ''accomplice''.


See also

*
Accessory (legal term) An accessory is a person who assists in, but does not actually participate in, the commission of a crime. The distinction between an accessory and a principal is a question of fact and degree: *The principal is the one whose acts or omissions, ...
*
Felony murder rule The rule of felony murder is a legal doctrine in some common law jurisdictions that broadens the crime of murder: when someone is killed (regardless of intent to kill) in the commission of a dangerous or enumerated crime (called a felony in s ...


References

{{Authority control Elements of crime Criminal law legal terminology Guilt