Oh? Foreknowledge that something will hurt somebody, and you are immediately able to use that knowledge to save them isn't analogous? I beg your pardon? Do you have an actual rebuttal, or just claims?
Generally speaking, most people are under no legal obligation to report a crime, whether they knew about it in advance, witnessed its commission, or found out about it after the fact. However, there are exceptions to this law that you ought to know about.
Aiding and Abetting a Crime (Penal Code section 31)
In California, you can be charged with the crime that was committed if you aided or abetted in its commission, but did not actually commit the crime yourself. Penal Code section 31 describes the phrase “aiding and abetting” as meaning that you assisted another person to commit a crime. Prosecutors can charge you as an aider and abettor whenever you:
- Know the perpetrator’s illegal plan,
- Intentionally encourage and/or facilitate that plan, and
- Aid, promote, or instigate in the crime’s commission.
You don’t have to be actually present at the scene of the crime to be charged under what is known as “accomplice liability.” If you willfully participated in the planning of a crime prior to its commission, you can be held criminally liable as an “accessory before the fact.”
If you take a passive role during a crime in progress, such as acting as a lookout or disabling a security device, you can be prosecuted as a perpetrator in the second degree (an accomplice).
Finally, if you help to conceal a crime already committed (hiding stolen money or weapons used in the crime’s commission, for example), or give assistance to perpetrators of crime to help them avoid detection, arrest or prosecution, you can be charged as an “accessory after the fact.”
In these situations, you are culpable under the accomplice liability theory because you knew of the illegal plan and
willfully did something to cause it to be carried out or concealed.
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WILLFULLY DID SOMETHING
