At law, an accomplice is a person who actively participates in the commission of a crime, even though they take no part in the actual criminal offence. For example, in a bank robbery, the person who points the gun at the teller and asks for the money is guilty of armed robbery. However, anyone else directly involved in the commission of the crime, such as the lookout, a second gunman, or the getaway car driver, is an accomplice, even though in the absence of an underlying offence keeping a lookout, holding a gun, or driving a car would not be an offence. for other uses please see Crime (disambiguation) A crime is an act that violates a political or moral law. ... Robbery is the crime of seizing property through violence or intimidation. ...

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 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. An accessory is a person who assists in or conceals a crime, but does not actually participate in the commission of the crime. ...

In older sources, an accomplice was often referred to as an abettor. This term is not in active use, having been replaced by accomplice. Abettor (from to abet, O. Fr. ...

At law, an accomplice has the same degree of guilt as the person he or she is assisting, is subject to prosecution for the same crime, and faces the same criminal penalties. As such, the three accomplices to the bank robbery above can also be found guilty of armed robbery even though only one stole the money. Guilt is primarily an emotion experienced by people who believe they have done something wrong. ... Criminal law (also known as penal law) is the body of law that regulates governmental sanctions (such as imprisonment and/or fines) as retaliation for crimes against the social order. ...

The fairness of the doctrine that the accomplice is as guilty as the primary offender has been discussed many times, particularly in cases of capital crimes. On several occasions, accomplices have been prosecuted for felony murder even though the actual person who committed the murder died at the crime scene or otherwise did not face capital punishment. // Capital Punishment, or the death penalty, is the severest punishment that can be imposed by the State for crimes known as capital crimes or capital offenses. ... The felony murder rule, adopted by a number of jurisdictions, is a legal doctrine according to which anyone who commits, or is found to be involved in, a serious crime (a felony), during which any person dies, is guilty of murder. ... // Capital Punishment, or the death penalty, is the severest punishment that can be imposed by the State for crimes known as capital crimes or capital offenses. ...

One of the most notorious cases of this type was the 1952 case in England involving Derek Bentley, a mentally-challenged man who was in police custody when his sixteen-year-old companion, Christopher Craig, shot and killed a police officer during a botched break-in (News Report [1]). Craig was sentenced to be detained at Her Majesty's pleasure, since as a juvenile offender he could not be sentenced to death (he was released after serving ten years), but Bentley was hanged. The incident was dramatized in the film Let Him Have It, which is what Bentley allegedly said to Craig during the incident, it being unclear whether he meant Craig shoot the officer or hand the gun to him. The hanging of Bentley led to public outrage and the eventual abolition of capital punishment in the United Kingdom. 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location (dark green) within the British Isles Languages None official English de facto Capital None official London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001... Derek Bentley (30 June 1933 - 28 January 1953) was hanged at the age of 19 for a murder committed by a friend, creating a cause célèbre and leading to a 45-year long successful campaign to win him a posthumous pardon. ... The word juvenile has several meanings: A juvenile is an individual organism that has not yet reached its adult form, maturity or size. ... Let Him Have It is a 1991 British film, based on the case of Derek Bentley, who was hanged for murder under controversial circumstances. ... Suicide by hanging. ...

In 1982, the United States Supreme Court held that accomplices may not be executed for the capital crimes of other criminals, if there is no evidence that the accomplice knew or even suspected that the primary wrongdoer might commit murder. In Enmund v. Florida, (1982), 458 U.S. 782, the accomplice was sitting in a car outside a house where a robbery was committed, and had no inkling that his partner in crime was going to kill the robbery victim. 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C., (large image) The Supreme Court of the United States, located in Washington, D.C., is the highest court (see supreme court) in the United States; that is, it has ultimate judicial authority within the United States... Official language(s) English Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 22nd 170,451 km² 260 km 800 km 17. ...

Some states, including the state of California, have a system that distinguishes between an accessory, an accomplice, and a principle (or co-principle) in a different way. In this system, the difference between an accessory and an accomplice is not as listed above. An accessory would ONLY be someone who aids and abets the principle (the person who committed the crime OR helped in the planning of the crime) to escape justice after the crime has been committed (there is no more accessory "before" and "after" the fact... what was once "accessory before the fact" is now just "co-principle", and what was once "accessory after the fact" is now just "accessory". An accomplice is NOT a formal legal term in many states... it is "legal slang", and denotes ONLY "an accessory or co-principle that agrees to testify against another principle in a court of law".