The Principle of Correspondence in Criminal Law Essay

The Principle of Correspondence in Criminal Law - Essay Example In criminal law, for an accused person to be found culpable, he or she is obliged to have indeed committed an unlawful act (actus reus) and must have acquired the mental state (mens rea) that propelled him to perform an illegal act. Actus reus is derived from Latin and means â€Å"guilty act† whereas mens rea means â€Å"guilty mind†. Under actus reus, the guilty act referred to could either be the commission or omission of an act that then leads to the violation of existing laws. Consider a case where a person, willingly and knowingly, drives over the speed limit. Here, the act of over speeding is done with total disregard to the existing law. An example of an omission of an act is a case where after adopting a pet, a person fails to care for and feed it thus leading to its demise. The crime in this case arises from the failure to act. In many occasions, a person is required to have had the necessary â€Å"mental state† while committing a crime for him or her to be found guilty of an offence. Often, mens rea refers to the intention to commit a crime. Some crimes, however, are done by unknowingly. Mens rea therefore may refer to other states of mind such as criminal negligence, recklessness or willful blindness. Intention refers to the situation where a person knowingly understands that their actions go against the rule of law and yet they continue with the guilty act. Willful blindness is shown where a person is aware of the possibility of wrongdoing but chooses to pursue with the offense.