Being accused or convicted of a crime is scary and stressful. You fear the loss of your family and your freedom. Being convicted of conspiracy to commit a crime is equally damaging to your life.
Conspiracy occurs when two or more people form an agreement to work together to commit an illegal act, and then at least one of them takes action to commit the agreed-upon crime.
Who is responsible for conspiracy?
Everyone involved in the conspiracy is subject to the same punishment, regardless of who took what action to commit the crime. This means that even those accused and convicted of planning the crime but who did not partake in committing the crime may be guilty of conspiracy. In fact, the crime they conspired to commit does not even need to be successfully completed for a person to be guilty of conspiracy.
What are the punishments for criminal conspiracy?
The punishment for conspiracy in Georgia depends on the severity of the planned crime. Punishment for conspiracy is separate from the crime itself. Conspiracy to commit a felony carries a punishment of imprisonment between one year and one-half of the possible maximum sentence for those convicted of the crime. Conspiracy to commit a misdemeanor carries the same punishment as though the accused committed a misdemeanor. Conspiracy to commit any crime that could be punishable by a life sentence or death is punishable by one to ten years of imprisonment.
For conspiracy, the agreement to commit a crime does not need to have been in writing. Even a verbal agreement to commit a crime can be a conspiracy if the accused understood what they had agreed to do.