Accessory

Accessory, or Accessary, a person guilty of a felonious offence, not as principal but by participation, as by advice, command, aid, or concealment. In treason there are no accessories, every person concerned (being considered and treated as a principal. In crimes below felony also, all persons concerned, if guilty at all, are regarded as principals. Accessories are of two sorts - before the fact and after it. An accessory before the fact is punishable to the same extent as the principal, and there is now indeed no practical difference between them. Accessories after the fact are punishable with imprisonment not exceeding two years. In Scotland no distinction is made between actual commission of crime and accession thereto. In in the United.States there is absolutely no difference between accessories and principals.