Zusammenfassung der Ressource
Intention
- The highest level of mens rea
- It is the basis of many crimes
- E.G in murder you have the intent to kill or cause GBH
- there are 2 types
- Direct
- Signifies that the defendant has a clear
desire to achieve a specific purpose
- To prove that the person had the direct intent the
judge has to prove that beyond reasonable doubt he
wished to achieve the actus reus of a crime
- Defined in Mohan 1976 as the defendants aim or puropose
- an example of direct intent is theft
- its the mens rea to permanently deprive another of property
- Oblique
- Can be found if the aim or purpose is said to be something diferent to the result
- eg to frighten rather that kill
- E.G Nedrick
- Nedrick established the virtually certain test
- The virtually certain test was whether or not death or GBH were virtually certain to occur
- If so was the defendant aware of this
- If so the jury can 'infer' that the defendant had indeed intended to cause death or GBH
- Woollin approved of this test with a few important changes
- He changed 'infer' to 'find'
- Confusingly in the same judgement said
- If it was virtually certain and there was evidence of this then it was intent!!
- But in the same judgement said it was evidence of intent
- RvG later said it should be evidence of intent