Criminal Scenarios Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Criminal Scenarios - Essay ExampleMens rea refers to the intention of the individual behind committing the crime. A person can only be held to be liable for committing a crime if there is an explicitly stated or inferred criminal intent to commit the crime. Mens rea is an essential element of homicide and has to be present for liability to be determined. In the present case, Clarks intention was to hunt deer and he mistook Andrew and Blake for a pair of deer due to his lack of experience as a hunter. This is despite the fact that Andrew and Blake had taken all just precautions to avoid being mistaken for animals by wearing orange jackets. However, his action, or actus reus, led to the death of twain brothers. Apart from that, there were no preliminary inchoate crimes that can lead one to believe that Clark mean to shoot and kill Andrew and Blake. There is no scope for Clark to claim a justification defence that could produce that while he committed the crime of homicide it was justified down the stairs the circumstances.Clark can be held liable under the felony murder mold. According to this rule, a death that is caused unintentionally during the course of committing a felony is a first-degree murder. If the felony murder rule is applied to the situation of Clark, it needs to be determined whether Clark was committing a felony at the time when he sapidity Andrew and Blake.