General Discussion

Goggle sez:

The phrase “in for a penny, in for a pound” is sometimes used informally when discussing criminal liability, but it is not a legal term. It loosely describes doctrines like:

accomplice liability

conspiracy liability

felony-murder rule (U.S.)

All of which can result in someone who didn’t directly commit the act being punished similarly to the principal offender.


I have also seen it used in an English murder trial movie long ago which IIRC is where I picked up the expression.

Anyhow, it's a useful phrase no matter what the specific situation!