Mississippi law provides that a person can be charged with “accessory after the fact” if he helps a person avoid arrest, trial or conviction for committing a felony. According to Mississippi Code Section 97-1-5,.
(1) Every person who shall be convicted of having concealed, received, or relieved any felon, or having aided or assisted any felon, knowing that the person had committed a felony, with intent to enable the felon to escape or to avoid arrest, trial, conviction or punishment after the commission of the felony, on conviction thereof shall be imprisoned in the custody of the Department of Corrections as follows:
(a) If the felony was a violent crime:
(i) If the maximum punishment was life, death or twenty (20) years or more, for a period not to exceed twenty (20) years; or
(ii) If the maximum punishment for the violent felony was less than twenty (20) years, for a period not to exceed the maximum punishment.
(b) If the felony was a nonviolent crime:
(i) If the maximum punishment for the nonviolent felony was ten (10) years or more, for a period not to exceed ten (10) years; or
(ii) If the maximum punishment for the nonviolent felony was less than ten (10) years, for a period not to exceed the maximum punishment.
In the Mississippi case of White v. State, the Court held that to be found guilty of accessory after the fact, the State must prove that the defendant knew that the person committed a felony, and that the defendant intended to help the person escape or avoid capture and prosecution. id. 851 So.2d 400 (2003).
Further, if the defendant intended to assist the felon in avoiding arrest, the State must prove that the efforts made to help the felon actually assisted him. id. 851 So.2d 400 (2003). Put differently, if the defendant provided assistance or aid to the felon, but the aid did not actually help him, then the defendant is not guilty of accessory after the fact in Mississippi. Under Mississippi criminal law, a person can not be convicted of both committing the underlying crime, and as an accessory after the fact.
Additionally, the help given to the felon must have been given after the crime was committed, not before. If the assistance was given prior to the crime being completed, then the person giving the assistance is guilty of accessory before the fact and is a principal to the crime. Of course, the guilt or innocence of a defendant charged with accessory after the fact will depend on the specific facts of each case. Accessory after the fact is often difficult for the State to prove, and can be defended with relative ease.
