Criminal charge in Delaware leads to hanging (5)
I believe the answer is:
drape
'hanging' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'criminal charge in delaware' is the wordplay.
'criminal charge' becomes 'rap' (I've seen this before).
'in' is an insertion indicator.
'delaware' becomes 'de' (standard two letter abbrev).
'rap' inserted into 'de' is 'DRAPE'.
'leads to' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for drape that I've seen before include "Arrange (cloth) loosely round something" , "Loose fabric cover" , "Hang - curtain" , "Spread (cloth over)" , "Cover loosely with cloth" .)