principal in the first degree

…his own hand” is a principal in the first degree. His counterpart in French law is the auteur (literally, “author”), or coauteur when two or more persons are directly engaged. A principal in the second degree is one who intentionally aids or abets the principal in the first degree, being…

…fatal blow) are often called principals in the first degree; those who assist at the time of the commission of the offense (e.g., holding the victim down while the principal in the first degree strikes the blow) are principals in the second degree; and those who assist before the crime…