• 犯罪はんざい — crime
• 有罪ゆうざい — guilty
• 無罪むざい — innocent
• 罪悪ざいあく — sin, evil deed
• 罪人ざいにん — criminal, sinner
• 謝罪しゃざい — apology (admitting guilt)

The kanji 罪 is formed by combining the radical 罒 (net or mesh) over 非 (wrong, not). The original idea may be that of placing something over a criminal’s face or capturing someone for wrongdoing. It visually conveys the concept of being caught in a net of guilt.

彼かれは 罪つみを 犯おかした。
He committed a crime.

無罪むざいが 証明しょうめいされた。
His innocence was proven.

The on-yomi ザイ is used in legal and compound terms, while the kun-yomi つみ refers to personal or moral guilt and is common in literary and spoken Japanese.