Obviously, someone who commits a crime, the “perpetrator,” is legally responsible for doing so. But can a person who merely assists the perpetrator also get in trouble? Yes. Anyone who aids or encourages the commission of a crime can face criminal consequences as an “aider and abettor.”
Aider and abettor laws vary by state. But generally, a person is an aider and abettor when he or she:
Generally, just being present or having knowledge that a crime is being committed doesn’t amount to aiding and abetting. But, on the other hand, a person who aids or instigates a crime can be responsible as aider and abettor without being there when the crime occurs.
And for a person to be guilty as an aider and abettor, the perpetrator must actually complete a crime.
Example: Robert plans to steal a six-pack of beer from the convenient store. He promises Boyd three beers for acting as a lookout. Boyd loves beer, so he agrees to help out with the heist. Boyd gets in position at the front of the store as Robert goes in to swipe the beer. Robert opens the freezer, looks at the six-pack, but ultimately, chickens out. Boyd isn’t guilty as an aider and abettor (though he did his part) because Robert never completed the theft.
Aiding and abetting isn’t a crime itself—it’s theory of criminal culpability. In other words, someone who helps another person commit a crime won’t be charged with a crime called “aiding and abetting.” Instead, the person who assists with the crime will be charged, as an aider and abettor, with the offense the perpetrator actually commits.
Example: Billy Joe plans a robbery; he asks Bobbie Sue to be his getaway driver. Bobby Sue, with nothing better to do, agrees. The robbery goes well—that is, until Detective Mack picks up their trail. Detective Mack arrests Billy Joe and Bobbie Sue when they stop for gas just outside of El Paso. Billy Joe is guilty of robbery as the perpetrator. Bobbie Sue is also guilty of robbery, but as an aider and abettor.
Because the perpetrator and aider and abettor are convicted of the same offense, they generally face the same possible penalties. However, a judge will likely consider the extent of an aider and abettor’s involvement when deciding what sentence—within the allowable range—to impose. So an aider and abettor whose role in the crime was minor could end up with a lesser punishment than that of the main perpetrator.
The crime that the aider and abettor and perpetrator plan to commit is called the “target offense.” But things don’t always go as planned. Oftentimes, a perpetrator will end up committing additional—sometimes more serious—crimes while doing or attempting the target offense.
An aider and abettor’s culpability isn’t necessarily limited to the target offense; aiders and abettors are also responsible for crimes the perpetrator commits that are a “natural and probable consequence” of the target offense. In other words, the aider and abettor is on the hook for the target crime and any other crimes that were reasonably foreseeable.
Example: Adrian plans a convenience-store robbery. Bill agrees to supply Adrian with a loaded pistol in exchange for half the robbery proceeds. The robbery doesn’t go according to plan: the store clerk refuses to hand over the money and threatens to call the police. Adrian gets nervous and pulls the trigger. The clerk dies from the gunshot wound. As an aider and abettor, Bill is probably responsible for the robbery and killing—the robbery is the target offense and a jury is likely to find the killing was a foreseeable result of the robbery.
