The Illustrated Guide to Criminal Law
Chapter 10: We’ll All Go Down Together
Conspiracy pg 24: The Crime of Agreement
With Conspiracy, what’s criminal is not any particular act, but the mere agreement between people to commit a crime. In other words, agreeing to commit a crime is itself deemed dangerous enough to society to be punishable.
Two conspirators in 16th-century attire, on a table bench.
CONSPIRATOR A
So we’re agreed. Next Monday, we go to the Duke’s palace…
CONSPIRATOR B
…Yes, yes! And we steal all the chickens!
CONSPIRATOR A
Do what? Okay, maybe we’re not in agreement just yet.
Some laws require nothing more than the mere agreement. That was the common law definition of the crime. But today, most laws require something more—that at least one of the conspirators committed an “overt act” in furtherance of the conspiracy.
Average Joe looking perplexed
AVERAGE JOE
People usually say “co-conspirators” instead of just “conspirators.” But the “co” always strikes me as redundant.