State v. Tally
Supreme Court of Alabama
15 So. 722 (Ala. 1894)
After R.C. Ross seduced a relative of the Skelton family, the Skeltons pursued Ross to kill him. Judge John Tally (defendant), aware the Skeltons wanted revenge, learned that a relative of Ross was sending a telegram warning Ross that armed men were chasing him; Tally then sent his own telegram to the operator in the town where Ross was headed, instructing him not to let the warning reach Ross and to "say nothing." The operator withheld the warning, and Ross, unaware he was being hunted, was ambushed and killed by the Skeltons. Alabama's attorney general brought an impeachment proceeding against Judge Tally for aiding and abetting the murder.
Whether an accomplice must be the but-for cause of a crime — that is, whether the crime would not have happened without his actions — in order to be guilty as an accomplice.