In criminology, the identification of mens rea involves analyzing the case with reference to four distinct types of criminal intent. General intent, as the term suggests, involves the presence of the willingness to perform some act, sometimes without understanding its natural and legal consequences. Specific intent refers to acts committed with a clear purpose in mind, specific motives, and some preplanning. Constructive or legal intent occurs if the act’s harmful consequences are objectively foreseeable, but the person might have had no actual intention to cause these specific consequences (Feltoe 254). Finally, criminal negligence is opposed to the intent to harm and refers to cases in which a person’s behaviors ignore the objective standards of safety that the majority of people would follow in the same situation.
From my perspective, specific intent might be the most complicated to prove since it requires a profound analysis of the offender’s state of mind. To identify general intent, such as speeding or battery, the evidence of the offender’s deliberate involvement in the act might be sufficient (Chapman 2). In constructive intent cases, for instance, D. Morgan’s killing of two 19-year-old victims as a result of DUI, the absence of actual intent to cause the consequences might be clear from no personal relationships between the offender and the victim (Stark). Proving criminal negligence centers on observable behaviors and the degree to which they differ from the universal rules and precautions. For instance, M. Thedford forgot his daughter in a hot car, resulting in her death, which had clearly stemmed from his exhaustion (WFAA Staff). To prove specific intent, the fact of committing the act is not enough, and the perpetrator’s plan to achieve this specific outcome must be evident. The issue is that some criminals, especially those with high psychopathic traits, can be good actors and skillfully create an impression that their acts have been sudden or even fake madness.
Works Cited
Chapman, Frances. “Sullivan. Specific and General Intent be Damned: Volition Missing and Mens Rea Incomplete.” Criminal Reports, vol. 63, 2020, pp. 1-9.
Feltoe, Geoff. “Constitutionality of the Offence of Deliberately Transmitting HIV: Case Note on the Case of S v Ranchi HH 515-17.” University of Zimbabwe Law Journal, vol. 1, no. 1, 2018, pp. 248-257. UZeScholar Institutional Repository.
Stark, Katelyn. “Fair Oaks Woman Faces Murder, DUI Charges after Crash Kills 2 Men.” Fox 40, 2021, Web.
WFAA Staff. “Father Found Guilty of Criminal Negligence in Death of Baby Left in Hot Car.” WFAA, 2018, Web.