Culpability is a legal term which is used to describe someone's level of responsibility for a crime. When someone is culpable, it means that he or she can be blamed and held responsible for behavior which is criminal in nature. Determinations of culpability can be an important part of legal investigations and decisions about sentencing, except in strict liability crimes where the accused is always held responsible, regardless of culpability.
Culpability can take a number of forms. When someone commits a crime purposefully, it is often regarded as the most serious form of blameworthiness. An example might be someone who fires a gun at someone with the intent to kill that person. In this case, the accused acted with free will, undertaking an action with a criminal purpose. If the accused is also determined to have full moral agency, the ability to make moral and ethical decisions, he or she will be considered culpable for the crime.
People may also engage in activities with the knowledge that they could lead to criminal situations, or engage in activity which is widely known to be dangerous, in which case there is an expectation that they should know and act accordingly. Negligence is an example of this type of culpability. To borrow the gun example again, someone who fails to secure a gun in a gun safe or with a gun lock would be considered negligent if someone else picked up the gun and fired it. The person is considered negligent because he or she allowed circumstances which could result in a criminal act to occur, and should have known that an unsecured gun would present a danger.
People may also be considered reckless, in which case they disregard risks and choose to act in a way which could result in a crime. Firing a gun out a sunroof for amusement, for example, could result in injury or death to bystanders. If such an event were to occur, the person who fired the gun would be considered culpable because she or he was behaving recklessly, choosing to fire the gun despite being aware of the dangers.
In certain types of cases, mental state is an important factor. Someone may commit a crime but not be in a mental state to fully understand the nature of the crime or the consequences of his or her actions. In this cases, the standard for culpability may not be met, which would change the approach to prosecution and sentencing.
