While some crimes only involve one hit person, many, often more complex crimes involve multiple people. Being an accessory to murder is a felony offense, and often involves the same consequences as it would if you committed the murder yourself. Criminal defense attorneys at Hallam Law Group advise that professional legal representation is necessary in all cases trying a murder case, but especially if you were unknowingly involved in a crime that you are being charged as an accessory in a murder.
What Does Accessory To Murder Mean?
An accessory to murder is recognized in court as someone who helps or encourages the perpetrator to commit a crime, and/or assists them before or after the murder occurs. This person is considered an accessory on the basis they that are not present at the scene of the murder, but still, aid in the commission of a felony. In most states, a person that is charged as an accessory to murder is given the same sentencing as the person who executed the murder. An example of an accessory to a crime is someone who helps the main perpetrator hide after the crime is committed.
Different Degrees Of Murder
As defined by the US Code, murder is “the unlawful killing of a human being with malice aforethought.” In the United States legal system, however, murder is categorized into three different categories known as first-, second-, and third-degree murders. The differences between these three classifications are:
First-Degree Murder: First-degree murder is the most severe murder charge in a court of law. Those charged usually committed the crime with the intention of causing harm to an individual. Typically, murder is considered labeled as first-degree any time it is discovered to have been premeditated.
Second-Degree Murder: Second-degree murder is described as any unlawful killing of another person without any planning or premeditation involved. In many second-degree murder cases, the defendant may have intended to harm but not kill the victim.
Third-Degree Murder: Third-degree murder is the least severe murder conviction that only exists in three states: Florida, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota. Although all three states have different definitions of the law, all agree that third-degree murder involves the unintentional death of another person.
Penalties For Accessory To Murder
Although the penalty for being an accessory to murder depends on the case, it is still not a charge that should be taken lightly. For instance, if the defendant is charged with aiding and abetting in a murder, they could face the same charges as the principal offender, which could be life imprisonment and even the death penalty. However, if the defendant is considered to be an accessory after the fact, they may only be charged with a misdemeanor depending on the case and their own criminal history.
Defenses Against Accessory To Murder
Luckily, as described by the criminal defense lawyers at Dolan + Zimmerman LLP, there are a number of defenses available for individuals charged with accessory to a crime. Typically, they include:
- The defendant was unaware the person they helped was either going to or committed murder.
- A murder never took place
- The defendant acted under duress
In legal terms, the word “duress” typically means that the defendant was forced to act for fear of harm to themselves or others.
Accomplice Vs. Accessory To Murder
To simply distinguish an accomplice to murder and an accessory to murder, an accomplice is at the scene, and an accessory is not. The overlap, and thus, the expected confusion between the two, is that both are involved in the crime. Accomplices are typically more involved in the crime than accessories, but both accomplices and accessories of a crime are charged in the same severity as the key perpetrator.
Accessory To Murder “Before The Fact” And “After The Fact”
Although accessory to murder can be a blanket term for an individual that helped another commit or cover up a murder, it can be broken down into two different categories “before the fact” and “after the fact.”
Before the Fact: An accessory to murder before the fact is someone that helps an individual commit the crime. This could include actions such as providing a weapon, giving a ride, or any other action that could be seen as helping ensure the killing takes place.
After the Fact: Similar to before the fact, an accessory to murder after the fact is when an individual aids the murderer after the act. This could include but is not limited to hiding the body, being the getaway driver, providing a false alibi, and the list goes on.