Crossword Genius

A crime committed by a country (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

america

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'country' is the definition.
(United States of America)

'a crime committed by a' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'a' is found in the answer.
an anagram of 'crime' is 'meric' which is located in the answer.
A single letter 'a' remains which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for america that I've seen before include "Western land mass" , "World power" , "The US" , "Camera I take to the continent, oddly" , "Continent of the Western Hemisphere" .)

I've seen this clue in The Mirror.
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