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Lincoln Burrows ist angeklagt, den Mord an Terrance Steadman, dem Bruder der Vizepräsidentin der Vereinigten Staaten, begangen zu haben.

  1. Why is it "...ist angeklagt", not "wird angeklagt"?
  2. What does "...begangen zu haben" mean?
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    This sentence is incorrect ("den Tod... begangen zu haben"), as well as containing several typos. Where did you find it?
    – waldrumpus
    Dec 15, 2014 at 11:45
  • I fixed a number of typos and formatting issues. That said, "den Tod begangen zu haben" is certainly incorrect. It might be "den Tod verursacht zu haben" or similar. Repeating @waldrumpus' question, where did you get it?
    – Ingmar
    Dec 15, 2014 at 11:54
  • I think this is the right one "Lincoln Burrows ist angeklagt, den Mord an Terrence Steadman, dem Bruder der Vizepräsidentin der Vereinigten Staaten, begangen zu haben" de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prison_Break
    – Anh Phong
    Dec 15, 2014 at 11:55

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To answer your questions (and some issues with the original sentence remaining), "ist angeklagt" literally means stands accused, i.e. the trial is already in progress. "Wird angeklagt" would mean that the trial is yet to come (= will be prosecuted). "Begangen zu haben" simply means to have committed.

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    Manchmal beschreibt die Gegenwartsform auch die Gegenwart.
    – Carsten S
    Dec 22, 2014 at 11:46
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  1. "wird angeklagt" is "Vorgangspassiv", ie. someone indicts him, "ist angeklagt" is "Zustandspassiv", that is, someone indicted him and he is now indicted.
  2. "begangen" means "commit"; to commit a crime/ein Verbrechen begehen. It is also possible for something like holidays: "einen Feiertag begehen" means that you actually commemorate what the holiday is about.
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This is the translation of your example:

German:
Lincoln Burrows ist angeklagt, den Mord an Terrance Steadman, dem Bruder der Vizepräsidentin der Vereinigten Staaten, begangen zu haben.

English:
Lincoln Burrows is accused to have committed homicide to Terrance Steadman, the brother of the United States vice president.

where ...

  • ist angeklagt = is accused
  • den Mord [...] begangen zu haben = to have committed [the] homicide

"Lincoln Burrows ist angeklagt" follows the same pattern like:

  • Das Auto ist vollgetankt. = The car is fully fueled.
  • Der Tisch ist gedeckt. = The table is set.
  • Meine Hände sind gewaschen. = My hands are washed.
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