Concept of Criminal Intent Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Concept of Criminal Intent - Essay Example ugh it cannot be denied that these two concepts are inevitably intertwined, the difference between the two lies in the fact that while a person may have sufficient motive to commit a crime, he or she may not be the one who actually intended to commit that particular crime (Koppenhaver, 2008). Hence, although motive, it being whatever reason whether personal or business-related that may induce a person to become involved in criminal activity, is a requirement for the commission of a crime, intent is the concrete intention of a person to commit a crime, like murder or robbery (Koppenhaver, 2008). What then is criminal intent? In order to answer this completely, it is important to first outline the various elements of a crime as it is a significant aspect of it. There are two main elements of a crime, the factual (actus reus) and mental (mens rea) that includes causation and proof of intention, respectively (Azuelos-Atias, 2007, p. 16). Actus Reus. Actus Reus or the factual element of a crime is the act of the commission of the crime itself and the events surrounding it, which includes the person’s behavior, the circumstances of the commission of the crime, and causation (Azuelos-Atias, 2007, p. 16). â€Å"The circumstances may exist prior to the committing of the act, simultaneously with it, and sometimes it may even come into existence after it† (Bein, 1995 cited in Azuelos-Atias, 2007, p. 16). Causation involves the establishment that the result, for instance brain damage due to grievious bodily harm, is connected to the act of the crime (Azuelos-Atias, 2007, p. 16). It is not enough to establish cause-in-fact of the damage as legal cause is something that needs to take into consideration the time period between the criminal act and the result, as well as foreign intervening acts (Azuelos-Atias, 2007, p. 17). For example, if the victim died one year and one day after the crime happened, which alleg edly caused the death of the said victim, the perpetrator is not