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In criminal law, mens rea (/ ˈ m ɛ n z ˈ r eɪ ə /; Law Latin for "guilty mind" [1]) is the mental state of a defendant who is accused of committing a crime. In common law jurisdictions, most crimes require proof both of mens rea and actus reus ("guilty act") before the defendant can be found guilty.
In criminal law, strict liability is liability for which mens rea (Law Latin for "guilty mind") does not have to be proven in relation to one or more elements comprising the actus reus ("guilty act") although intention, recklessness or knowledge may be required in relation to other elements of the offense (Preterintentionally [1] [2] /ultraintentional [3] /versari in re illicita).
To be convicted, the accused must have formed the mens rea either before or during the commission of the actus reus. In the vast majority of cases, this rule works without difficulty. Two types of concurrence in criminal law. Temporal concurrence – the actus reus and mens rea occur at the same time.
In United States criminal law, transferred intent is sometimes explained by stating that "the intent follows the bullet". [citation needed] That is, the intent to kill a person by gunshot would still apply even if the bullet kills an unintended victim (see mens rea). [citation needed]
Provocation can be a relevant factor in a court's assessment of a defendant's mens rea, intention, or state of mind, at the time of an act which the defendant is accused of. In common law, provocation is established by establishing events that would be "adequate" to create a heat of passion in a reasonable person, and by establishing that the ...
Genocidal intent is the specific mental element, or mens rea, required to classify an act as genocide under international law, [1] particularly the 1948 Genocide Convention. [2] To establish genocide, perpetrators must be shown to have had the dolus specialis , or specific intent , to destroy a particular national, ethnic, racial, or religious ...
In terms of mens rea, any form of recklessness, including virtual certainty, is insufficient for an offence under Section 44, in part due to the existence of Section 45 and 46 which aid its interpretation.
In law, knowledge is one of the degrees of mens rea that constitute part of a crime.For example, in English law, the offence of knowingly being a passenger in a vehicle taken without consent requires that the prosecution prove not only that the defendant was a passenger in a vehicle and that it was taken by the driver without consent, but also that the defendant knew that it was taken without ...