No, no something is wrong or being misinterpreted here.
You can get life if you helped and didn't even know that the intent was to murder.
Interesting article to read.
In the U.S., You Can Get Convicted of Felony Murder Without Killing Anyone. This Case Shows That Needs to Change.
Accessory to a Crime (C.R.S. 18-8-105) in Larimer, Grand or Weld County, occurs if a person intends to "hinder, delay, or prevent the discovery, detection, apprehension, prosecution, conviction, or punishment of another for the commission of a crime".
Complicity (C.R.S. 18-1-603), on the other hand, is a crime in which "[a] person is legally accountable as principal for the behavior of another constituting a criminal offense if, with the intent to promote or facilitate the commission of the offense, he or she aids, abets, advises, or encourages the other person in planning or committing the offense." The person charged does not have to be present when the crime is committed.
So, Complicity involves assistance before the crime and Accessory involves assistance after the crime.
If acting in
complicity with another, you will be charged the same as the person committing the crime. If acting as an
accessory, you will be charged with a lesser felony if the underlying crime is a felony, or with a petty offense, if the underlying crime is a misdemeanor.
There is no way you get a light sentence. If you look at complicity- it is as simple as having those conversations prior to the murder about murdering KB. Each time you have KK had a conversation with PF about it she was enabling and encouraging him by continuing that conversation. There have been other cases in Colorado where the secondary person involved got hammered just because they discussed it. Same sentence as the one who did the deed.
Accessory- got 9 yrs after pleading down to lesser charges
Accessory gets 9 years – The Denver Post
I am sure the the verified lawyers (
@riolove77 ,
@gitana1 ,
@PrairieWind ) on the site can provide better insight into this than I can