What word means a person who commits a crime?

The word that means a person who commits a crime, on the USCIS reading vocabulary list, is Criminal. A criminal is a person who has been convicted of a crime, that is, an act prohibited by law and punishable by the state.

In the United States criminal law is enforced at federal, state, and local levels, with most everyday crimes (such as theft, assault, and most homicides) prosecuted under state law and a smaller set of federal crimes (such as tax evasion, bank robbery, drug trafficking across state lines, and immigration violations) prosecuted in federal court.

The Constitution provides several important protections for people accused of crimes. The Fourth Amendment prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures and requires warrants based on probable cause. The Fifth Amendment guarantees grand jury indictment for serious federal crimes, protects against double jeopardy and self-incrimination, and requires due process. The Sixth Amendment guarantees a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury, the right to be informed of charges, the right to confront witnesses, the right to compulsory process, and the right to assistance of counsel (including a court-appointed lawyer for those who cannot afford one, under Gideon v. Wainwright, 1963). The Eighth Amendment prohibits excessive bail, excessive fines, and cruel and unusual punishment.

The presumption of innocence, though not stated in the Constitution by that name, is a fundamental principle of U.S. criminal law: the prosecution must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Conviction of a crime can have lasting civic consequences, including loss of voting rights in some states (felon disenfranchisement varies by state law), loss of the right to possess firearms, and ineligibility for some public benefits and immigration relief. On the reading test Criminal may appear in a sentence about courts, justice, or rights.