An accessory to attempted murder is someone who helps, encourages, or covers for the person who tried to kill — without being the one who pulled the trigger. Under federal law, anyone who aids or abets an attempted murder is punishable as if they committed it, which can mean up to 20 years in prison. Helping after the fact carries a lower ceiling, but still serious time. The line between innocent bystander and criminal accomplice is narrower than most people realize.
Who Counts as an Accessory
Criminal law has traditionally split people involved in a crime into three roles. The principal is the person who actually carries out the act. An accessory before the fact encourages, aids, or assists in planning or preparing the crime but is not present when it happens. If they are present, the law usually calls them an aider and abettor rather than an accessory.
That older vocabulary matters less than it used to. Many jurisdictions now fold accessories before the fact into a broader category called accomplice liability and treat them the same as the principal for sentencing. The federal aiding and abetting statute says this directly: whoever aids, abets, counsels, commands, or induces the commission of a federal offense is punishable as a principal.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 2 – Principals Help plan the attempt or provide the weapon, and you face the same maximum sentence as the person who used it.
Accessory after the fact is a separate, less severe category. It applies when someone assists a person they know committed a crime, after the crime, with the intent to help them avoid arrest or punishment. Hiding a fugitive, destroying evidence, or providing a false alibi all fall here. The penalties are lighter because the crime is already complete when the accessory steps in, but they are not trivial.
What Prosecutors Have to Prove
For an accomplice conviction, prosecutors generally need to establish two things: that the accused knew the principal intended to commit the crime, and that the accused intentionally did something to help make it happen. A vague sense that someone “might be up to something” is not enough. The evidence has to show awareness of a specific plan to kill or seriously harm.
The second element demands active participation. Being in the room when a crime is discussed, or even knowing it will happen and doing nothing, does not by itself create accomplice liability. Mere presence at the scene is not sufficient. Courts look for concrete acts: buying supplies, scouting a location, lending a car, passing along the victim’s schedule, providing money. The Model Penal Code frames this as acting “with the purpose of promoting or facilitating the commission of the offense” by soliciting, aiding, or agreeing to aid in its planning or execution.2United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Criminal Code, 2011 – Section 2.06
For accessory after the fact, prosecutors must show the accused knew a crime had been committed and intentionally helped the offender evade justice. Passive silence is not the same as active concealment, which matters because silence sometimes falls under a lesser charge instead.
Penalties
Federal attempted murder within special maritime and territorial jurisdiction carries up to 20 years in prison.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 1113 – Attempt to Commit Murder or Manslaughter Because aiders and abettors are punishable as principals, an accomplice to federal attempted murder faces that same 20-year maximum.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 2 – Principals
An accessory after the fact is handled differently. The maximum prison term is half the principal offender’s maximum. If the principal faces up to 20 years for attempted murder, the accessory after the fact faces up to 10. If the underlying crime is punishable by life imprisonment or death, the accessory after the fact can be imprisoned for up to 15 years.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 3 – Accessory After the Fact The fine follows the same half-of-the-principal formula.
State penalties vary. Some states have attempted murder statutes carrying 10 to 30 years or more, and accomplices face the full range. Others grade accomplice liability separately. The pattern is consistent though: helping before or during the crime exposes you to the same penalties as the principal; helping after carries a reduced but still serious sentence.
How Your Exposure Can Grow Beyond What You Agreed To
One of the most dangerous features of accomplice liability is that you can be convicted of crimes you did not plan or even know about. Two doctrines make that possible.
The first is the natural and probable consequences doctrine. An accomplice is liable not just for the crime they agreed to, but for any additional crime that was a foreseeable outcome. Agree to help with an armed robbery, and if the principal shoots the clerk, prosecutors may argue the shooting was a natural and probable consequence of bringing a loaded gun to a robbery. You agreed to the robbery; the shooting was foreseeable; you are on the hook for both. Several states have moved away from this doctrine, but it still applies in many jurisdictions.
The second is the Pinkerton doctrine, which applies to conspiracies. Under Pinkerton, any member of a conspiracy can be held liable for crimes committed by co-conspirators that were reasonably foreseeable and done in furtherance of the conspiracy, even without personal participation or actual knowledge of those specific acts.5United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Pinkerton Charge People who thought they were playing a minor role often discover here that their criminal exposure is much larger than they imagined.
Misprision of Felony: Knowing but Not Helping
Not everyone who knows about a crime actively helps with it. Federal law separates the person who hides a fugitive from the person who simply knows a felony occurred and stays quiet. The second scenario can be charged as misprision of felony, which requires that the person had knowledge of an actual felony, concealed it, and failed to report it to a judge or other authority as soon as possible.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 4 – Misprision of Felony
The maximum penalty for misprision is three years in prison, a fine, or both — far less than accessory after the fact. Prosecutors sometimes use misprision as a fallback when they cannot prove the active assistance an accessory charge requires, or as leverage in plea negotiations. The dividing line is passive concealment versus active help. Lie to police about a friend’s whereabouts and you are leaning toward accessory. Say nothing and you are closer to misprision.
Defenses
Defending against an accessory or accomplice charge usually means attacking one of the elements prosecutors have to prove.
Lack of Knowledge or Intent
If you genuinely did not know what the principal intended, you lack the mental state required for accomplice liability. Someone who lends a car to a friend without knowing it will be used in an attack has a strong argument here. The defense usually hinges on what the accused knew and when, so text messages, phone calls, and other communications become critical evidence for both sides.
Withdrawal
An accomplice who changes their mind can sometimes avoid liability by withdrawing before the crime occurs and taking affirmative steps to prevent it. Under the Model Penal Code, the person must terminate their involvement and either completely undo the effectiveness of their prior assistance or give timely warning to law enforcement.2United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Criminal Code, 2011 – Section 2.06 Simply failing to show up on the day of the crime is not enough. You have to actively work to stop it or alert the authorities.
Duress, With a Major Limitation
Duress applies when someone is coerced into participating through a reasonable fear of immediate death or serious bodily harm, with no safe avenue of escape.7United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. Core Criminal Law Subjects – Defenses – Duress The limitation catches many people off guard: most jurisdictions do not allow duress as a defense to murder or attempted murder. The general rule is that killing or helping to kill an innocent person cannot be excused by threats against you, though a few states may reduce the charge rather than eliminate liability. In attempted murder cases, the defense is far more limited than in other crimes.
Insufficient Evidence
Even when prosecutors have the right theory, they may lack proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Defense attorneys challenge witness reliability, the interpretation of ambiguous communications, and the chain of custody for physical evidence. Accomplice cases often rely heavily on cooperating witnesses who are themselves facing charges, and juries can be skeptical of testimony purchased with a plea deal.
Collateral Consequences of a Conviction
Prison is only the start. A felony conviction connected to attempted murder follows you for years or decades after release.
Firearms
Federal law prohibits anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year of imprisonment from possessing firearms or ammunition.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts Both accomplice and accessory-after-the-fact convictions for attempted murder cross that threshold easily. The ban is effectively permanent under federal law, and violating it is a separate felony.
Voting Rights
Every state except Maine, Vermont, and the District of Columbia restricts voting rights for people with felony convictions to some degree. Rules range from automatic restoration on release to indefinite disenfranchisement requiring a governor’s pardon.9National Conference of State Legislatures. Restoration of Voting Rights for Felons
Employment and Professional Licensing
A violent-felony record creates substantial barriers to work. Background checks flag the conviction, and many employers are reluctant to hire someone associated with attempted murder regardless of their specific role. Roughly half the states require a direct relationship between the conviction and a professional license before denying the application; the other half give licensing boards broader discretion. A felony of this severity can block access to dozens of licensed professions.
Immigration
For non-citizens, a conviction connected to attempted murder can trigger deportation. Federal immigration law classifies murder as an aggravated felony, and any attempt or conspiracy to commit an aggravated felony is itself classified as one.10Legal Information Institute. 8 U.S. Code 1101(a)(43) – Aggravated Felony Aggravated felony convictions carry mandatory removal with very limited relief available.
Restitution and Supervised Release
Federal courts must order restitution to victims of violent crimes. If the attempted murder caused bodily injury, restitution covers medical expenses, therapy, rehabilitation, and lost income.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 3663A – Mandatory Restitution to Victims of Certain Crimes These obligations can run into tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars and are not dischargeable in bankruptcy.
After prison, federal law authorizes supervised release of up to five years for Class A or B felonies and up to three years for Class C or D felonies.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 3583 – Inclusion of a Term of Supervised Release After Imprisonment Supervised release works like a more restrictive form of probation. Conditions can include drug testing, travel restrictions, curfews, and regular meetings with a probation officer. Violating them sends you back to prison.
Victims may also sue the accessory in civil court for compensatory and sometimes punitive damages. The criminal conviction can be used as evidence, and the lower civil burden of proof makes these suits easier to win. A civil judgment comes on top of any criminal fines and restitution already imposed.