criminal accountability
Facing justice's consequences
Criminal accountability is the principle that individuals must answer for their unlawful actions and face consequences imposed by the legal system.
It encompasses both the determination of guilt and the acceptance of punishment: The prosecutor sought to establish criminal accountability for the executives who authorized the fraud.
The concept implies that offenders can be held responsible—that they understood their actions and chose them freely.
- statuteEnacted written rule
- imprisonmentLegal detention in jail
- prosecutorGovernment's trial lawyer
- beyond reasonable doubtStandard for criminal conviction
- guilty verdictCourt's culpability determination
culpability · legal responsibility · justice · fine · mens rea · moral agency · fairness · precedent · probation · parole board · proportionality · penal code · plea bargain · jurisdiction · judiciary · restorative justice · community service · restitution
criminal accountabilityimpunity
Freedom from consequences
immunity · unaccountability · diplomatic immunity · amnesty · sovereign immunity
criminal accountabilityinnocence
Freedom from wrongdoing
exoneration · acquittal · blamelessness · exculpation · not guilty
criminal, accountability, crime, crimes, criminals, criminally, criminality, criminalize, criminalized