Men's rea

Men's rea means guilty mind and it is the mental element of a crime.

Ladder of intention

1. Direct intention
2. Oblique intention
3. Subjective recklessness

Direct intent is when the defendant deliberately punches someone and so has an intention to use unlawful force in the victim.

The principles for direct intent was defined in Mohan (1975) as the direct intention to bring about a consequence, no matter whether the accused desired the consequences of his act or not.

Oblique (indirect) intention

This is where the defendant did not desire the consequences, but realised that the consequences were virtually certain.

Woollin (1998) - where the defendant…