Dr.Richard Mudd

[L Verge]

I'm sure that Ed will expand on this, but he mentioned "vicarious liability" previously. James O. Hall drilled that English common law principle into our heads. It boils down to the point that, if one enters into a conspiracy, one is liable for what any member of that conspiracy might do. Modern law enforcement uses the term "felony murder" to explain one aspect of it. I have used it for forty years to explain to students the harm that can come from joining a gang. I believe that it is what the prosecution used to convict Charles Manson when he kept claiming that he wasn't at the scene of the Sharon Tate murders.

The only way a person can get out of a conspiracy is to completely end the full conspiracy (not just his/her role in it) or to report it to the authorities. Mudd's fairly continuous contact with Booth during November and December of 1864, his introduction of Booth into the Surratt family (even though claiming that Booth forced him to do the intro), and his failure to report the strangers at his house to the authorities in a timely fashion certainly would contribute to him being found guilty as charged.