A criminal accomplice is a person who knowingly, voluntarily, or intentionally assists another person in the commission of a crime—or under some circumstances, a person who fails to prevent another person from committing a crime. Unlike a person who aids and abets a crime by helping with the planning of the crime but is often not present at the scene of the crime—and unlike an accessory after the fact, who is not present at the scene of the crime but assists after the commission of the crime to help the perpetrator avoid arrest or punishment—an accomplice actively participates in the commission of the crime. For example, a person who acts as a lookout or getaway driver for a bank robbery is an accomplice.

In many states the traditional distinctions between the culpability of accomplices and principals to a crime have been replaced by statute—including the felony murder rule that may make an accomplice guilty of first degree or capital murder if he was the lookout or getaway driver for a bank robbery that resulted in a death.

In Arkansas, the law does not make a significant distinction between the principal offender and the accomplice in the commission of a crime. Under Arkansas Code Annotated § 5-2-403, a person is criminally liable for the conduct of another person when, with the intent to promote or facilitate the commission of a crime, they solicit, advise, encourage, or assist the other person in planning or committing the crime. This means that an accomplice, such as a lookout or getaway driver in a bank robbery, is held to the same standard of criminal liability as the person who directly commits the criminal act. Furthermore, under the felony murder rule, as outlined in Arkansas Code Annotated § 5-10-102, if a death occurs during the commission of a felony or in immediate flight therefrom, all participants in the felony can be charged with murder in the first degree, regardless of their role in the underlying crime. This includes accomplices like lookouts or getaway drivers, who can face severe penalties, including life imprisonment or the death penalty, if a death occurs during the commission of certain felonies.