They became accessories after the fact.

If on the other hand they misconceived the purpose for which they were there the performance was a shocking example of what is possible under present conditions.
Just as there are three general classes of wrongs, so there are three general and varyingly effective forms of restraint against their perpetration.

First there is the moral control exerted by what is ordinarily called conscience, secondly there is the restraint which arises out of the apprehension that the commission of a tort will be followed by a judgment for damages in a civil court, and lastly there is the restraint imposed by the criminal law.

All these play their part, separately or in conjunction.

For some men conscience is a sufficient barrier to crime or to those acts which, while equally reprehensible, are not technically criminal; for others the possibility of pecuniary loss is enough to keep them in the straight and narrow way; but for a large proportion of the community the fear of criminal prosecution, with implied disgrace and ignominy, forfeiture of citizenship, and confinement in a common jail is about the only conclusive reason for doing unto others as they would the others should do unto them.