Omission to act should not be considered as a criminal act, because a person should not be forced to put himself or herself in harm’s way. It is important to note that there are some cases where such an act should be criminalized, such as Kentucky law on reporting child abuse. If an individual is aware or knows about a child being abused, he or she should be forced to report it, and acting otherwise should be punishable. However, omission to act should not be punishable in most cases because it undermines independent decision making and puts a person in a dangerous or unpleasant situation. Possession should be considered as a criminal act, but there should also be knowing and awareness. Therefore, a person possessing a certain quantity of marijuana criminal intent should be penalized, but if an individual unknowingly has an illegal substance in his possession, then he should not be punished.
The Model Penal Code deals with it by outlining four levels of mens rea, which are purpose or intent, knowledge, recklessness, and negligence. The former occurs when a person acts intentionally that his or her actions might cause a certain outcome. Knowledge takes place when an individual acts knowingly that activity will result in a specific outcome. Recklessness happens when someone is fully aware of the risks but proceeds with the action anyway. Negligence occurs when a person is not aware of the dangers but should be well informed. For example, A hits B with a bat and kills him, and thus, A had the intention to harm but was not certain of a result. However, if A was a professional martial artist and he killed B through choking, he knowingly committed the murder. For instance, if A points a gun at B to intimidate and accidentally shoots him, he was reckless because A was aware of the risks. Negligence can be seen if A hits B in the head with a bat and kills him, but A did not want to kill B and did know that hitting in the head can be fatal.