Misprision of felony, under the common law of England, was the crime of failing to report knowledge of a felony to the appropriate authorities. Exceptions were made for close family members of the felon.

With the development of the modern law, this crime has been discarded in most jurisdictions, and is generally only applied against persons placed in a special position of authority or responsibility. For example, prison guards who stand idly by while drug trafficking occurs within the prison may be prosecuted for this crime.

One form of this crime, misprision of treason, was frequently used in England during the 16th and 17th centuries to punish enemies of the crown.

The term misprision can also be applied in some legal systems to a wilful act or omission by a person who is involved in or has knowledge of the facts of a crime, which causes in the end result an innocent person to be punished for the crime; e.g., a frameup.

References

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Curenton, The Past, Present, and Future of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 4: An Exploration of the Federal Misprision of Felony Statute, (2003) Vol. 55 Alabama Law Review, 183.

Common law | Criminal law | Crimes