Unraveling the misconceptions behind these legal terms: A Suspect, Defendant, Accused, Convict And Ex-convict

A person who is accused of a particular crime is usually referred to with different names or terms. Each name or term used in describing such a person varies at every stage before or after he or she has gone through trial.

Some names or appellations used on such a person may also be dependent on the geographical area in which he is arrested or tried for an offence. In this article, we would consider some terms associated with a person who commits a crime. They are:

1. Suspect:

According to The Black’s Law Dictionary, a suspect is a person believed to have committed a crime or offence. At the point where the law enforcement agents arrest a person who they had reasonable cause to believe is responsible for a crime, such a person would be referred to as a suspect.

2. Defendant:

According to the Black’s Law Dictionary, a defendant is a person sued in a civil proceeding or accused of committing an offence in a criminal proceeding. When a suspect has been charged to court, he would be referred to as a defendant during the trial.

In the Southern states in Nigeria, where a suspect is brought before the court to face trial, he is usually referred to as a defendant.

3. Accused:

According to the Black’s Law Dictionary, an accused is a person who has been blamed for a wrongdoing especially a person who has been brought before a magistrate, or who has been formally charged with a crime.

In the Northern states of Nigeria, a person facing criminal trial is usually referred to as an accused.

4. Convict:

According to the Black’s Law Dictionary, a convict is a person who has been found guilty of a criminal offence upon a criminal trial. It could also be a person serving a sentence in prison.

5. Ex-convict:

According to Definition.net, an ex-convict is an accused person who has been tried and found guilty and has even served his punishment in prison.