Mens Rea & Actus Reus

1564 Words7 Pages
Criminal Investigation Procedures Assignment 4 Mens rea: 1) Mens rea is Latin for "guilty mind". In criminal law, it is viewed as one of the necessary elements of a crime. 2) Intention requires the highest degree of fault of all the levels of Mens rea. A person, who intends to commit a crime, can generally be said to be more guilty than one who acts recklessly. Intention can be divided into direct intent and oblique intent. Direct intent: The majority of cases will be quite straight forward and involve direct intent. Direct intent can be said to exist where the defendant embarks on a course of conduct to bring about a result which in fact occurs. 3) Oblique intent: Oblique intent is more complex. Oblique intent can be said to exist where the defendant embarks on a course of conduct to bring about a desired result, knowing that the consequence of his actions will also bring about another result. 4) In general terms, being reckless refers to the taking of an unjustified risk. It is one of the four possible classes of mental state constituting mens rea. Criminal law recognizes recklessness as one of the mens rea elements to establish liability. It shows less culpability than intention, but more culpability than criminal negligence. 5)R v G and Another: Two boys, aged 11 and 12 years, were camping without their parents' permission when they entered the back yard of a shop in the early hours of the morning, Lighting some newspapers they found in the yard, they left, with the papers still burning. The newspapers set fire to nearby rubbish bins standing against the shop wall, where it spread up the wall and on to the roof of the shop. Approximately £1m damage was caused. The children argued they expected the fire to burn itself out and said they gave no thought to the risk of its spreading. 6) The doctrine of transferred malice applies where the mens rea of one

More about Mens Rea & Actus Reus

Open Document