AID AND ABET

aid  and  abet,vb.  To  assist  or  facilitate  the  commission  of  a  crime,  or  to  promote  its

accomplishment. • Aiding and abetting is a crime in most jurisdictions. — Also termed aid or abet;

counsel and procure. [Cases: Criminal Law    59. C.J.S. Criminal Law §§ 127, 998.] — aider and

abettor,n.

“The phrase ‘aid and abet’ and ‘aider and abettor’ seem  unnecessarily  verbose…. [A]ny aid

given with mens rea is abetment; hence to add the word ‘aid’ to the word ‘abet’ is not necessary

and is sometimes misleading.” Rollin M. Perkins & Ronald N. Boyce, Criminal Law 724–25 (3d

ed. 1982).“In connection with the principal in the second degree or accessory before the fact, the terms

‘aid’ and ‘abet’ are frequently used interchangeably, although they are not synonymous. To ‘aid’ is

to assist or help another. To ‘abet’ means, literally, to bait or excite, as in the case of an animal. In

its legal sense, it means to encourage, advise, or instigate the commission of a crime.” 1 Charles E.

Torcia, Wharton’s Criminal Law § 29, at 181 (15th ed. 1993). [Blacks Law 8th]