MENS REA EXEMPLAR ANSWER

MENS REA EXEMPLAR ANSWER:Mens Rea is the the mental element of a crime. It is the intention behind the offence. Mens Rea is denoted by intention and recklessness.Direct intention was defind by ord Justice James in R V Mohan as a state of affairs that a party does more then merely contemplate. Intention is further divided into oblique intent, wherein the defendant intended the act, but no so much the consequence. This is given in the hypothetical example of a bomb being placed in an airline to claim insurance money. Hancock and Shanklin illustrate the principle that the greater the probability of the outcome, the more likely it was foreseen and intended. By the same token, Woollin and Nedrick illustrate a result forseen as virtually certain and intended.Recklessness is also a key part of mens rea. The English Law only recognises subjective recklessness. This was shown in the Cunningham case, which established Cunningham recklessness. The question is whether the defendant had foreseen that his act might injure someone, not ought to have foreseen the risk.

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