accessory before the fact

Related to word: accessory

Pharse

Definition (crime)

  1. A person who assists in planning or preparing for a crime before it is committed.

    • The person who supplied the weapon to the criminals was an accessory before the fact.

    • He was charged as an accessory before the fact in the murder case due to his prior planning assistance.

    • His inflammatory remarks were enough to classify him as an accessory before the fact.