Actus Reus and Mens Rea Essay Essay Example

Actus Reus and Mens Rea Essay Essay Example Actus Reus and Mens Rea Essay Essay Actus Reus and Mens Rea Essay Essay The elements that constitue work forces rea. viz. : 1. The accused knew what they were making 2. They knew what they were making was incorrect ( lawfully ) 3. They were in sound head to take whether or non to make it 4. They chose to make it anyhow. If any of these 4 are non present. so mens rea is non complete. and the individual can be found non guilty ( including pleading insanity ) . Furthermore. there is a class of offenses known as â€Å"strict liability offences† . for which there need non be any grounds of work forces rea i. e. you can be found guilty of perpetrating a offense even without cognizing it. This includes offenses such as Canis familiaris fouling. interrupting the main road codification etc. Basically. it says that ignorance of the jurisprudence is no defense mechanism. you’re guilty through the actus reus entirely. On the other manus. frequently the opposite is true. work forces rea in itself can take to conviction i. e. if it was proved that a individual was planning/intending to perpetrate a offense. they can be convicted without really holding â€Å"done† anything. Normally. this takes the signifier of carry throughing an offense in itself e. g conspircay to perpetrate slaying. This has a great trade of importance today ; if person purchases a burden of chemicals and blend them to make explosives in their place. the jurisprudence doesn’t have to wait for tem to blow something up before they can be convicted of terrorist act. If you’ve seen the movie â€Å"Minority Report† . you’ll know the dangers of taking this to the extreme. Broadly talking. in condemnable jurisprudence. it must be proved beyond sensible uncertainty that a individual pposessed the relevant work forces rea and committed the actus reus on order to be convicted of a offense. However. to get by with the assortment of offenses. to promote consciousness of the jurisprudence and to guarantee that the jurisprudence has a moral component in its operation. so the two philosophy can stand on their ain to take to a strong belief.