Mens Rea - The Guilty Mind?

The mens rea is the Latin term for "guilty mind" used in Criminal law. To establish Criminal Liability, there must be a coincidence of the act (actus reus) and the mind (mens rea). The Latin phrase to mark Criminal Liability, "actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea" - which means that "the act does not make a person guilty unless the mind is also guilty". So there, simply put, to pronounce someone guilty of a criminal act, the prosecution must basically proved that the person has done the act and had the intention to do the act.

But of course, there are endless arguments and discussions on mens rea in detail. Just Google it and you'll be surprised with the wealth of information that they've got on the internet. The only exception would be strict liability. Drugs trafficking in Singapore is a strict liability crime which explains why you don't have to bring it, as long as you are found in the act of bringing it in, you'd be guilty. There's a reason why Mom and Dad never stops reminding you not to carry bags for strangers at the airport.

And you have recklessness, blah blah... Well, it's when you know due to your actions, like driving carelessly without checking your blind spots or changing lanes without warning, something will possibly happen due to your acts. Then, you have the mens rea.

What brought me to dwell in this topic was due to the chain of "conversation" in my comment box under the "Discrimination" post between Tubby - a non-legal person, Marquis - A barrister in training, and Snugloft - A non-solicitor at whim of shallow pockets.

Someone who kills while sleepwalk, or under some sort of influence, or even a disability to certain senses. A mild example would be R v Ahluwalia which i wrote earlier on the movie "Provoked". She was suffering from battered women syndrome. She had lost the capacity to reason when she killed her husband. I'm not saying she's absolved of all evil or that she's right to harbour thoughts of revenge even for all the abuse she went through. Her MR was definitely affected and hence the defence of "diminished responsibility".

Do you guys know there's a field that i really wanted to go into, forensic psychiatry? Forensic psychiatry is a branch of medicine which focuses on the interface of law and mental health. It includes psychiatric consultation in a wide variety of legal matters (including expert testimony), as well as clinical work with perpetrators and victims. This web page focuses on forensic work with attorneys, courts, or other parties involved in actual or potential litigation. Which inevitably i would need to introduce my idol, Dr Henry Lee - One of the top forensic scientists in the world and how wonderful would it be if i could work with him. As always, i digress, but given the mental state of me right now, I'd rather just close this topic off. I wouldn't wanna go stabbing "Not Really An Elitist But Really, Just A Money Grabber" right now unknowingly...