ipl-logo

Elements Of Criminal Law Essay

1202 Words5 Pages

Criminal law covers the area of crimes and is there to maintain law and order. A crime refers to a breach of one or more rule of law. The society believes that individuals should be held responsible for their actions, especially when those actions constitutes a crime that would endanger the safety of today’s society. In the eye of the law, in order to paint an individual as guilty, the prosecution must prove that the defendant committed an actus reus had mens rea at the same time. Actus reus refers to a guilty act and mens rea means a guilty state of mind. When crimes have been committed, a selection of defenses may be brought into by a defense attorney in order to negate a guilty verdict. In law, it is known that an individual should not be held …show more content…

For example, as seen in Clarke where the defendant left the supermarket which items she didn’t pay for, the judges ruled that in order to use the defense of insanity, the defendant’s powers of reasoning must be impaired; should he merely failed to use those powers, he wouldn’t be able to use the defense. In Clarke, the defendant was said to be ‘absent-minded’ and thus wasn’t able to use the defense of insanity. Another example can be seen in Kemp where the defendant irrationally attacked his wife with a hammer without any motives. It was later discovered that he was suffering from arteriosclerosis which caused a temporary loss of consciousness at the time of the crime. The defendant didn’t want to use the defense of insanity and instead used the defense of automatism. The court rejected it stating that his condition amounted to a disease of the mind. Furthermore, the defence of insanity doesn’t recognize compulsions or ones inability to control their emotions; Professor Ashworth has noted that, “some forms of mental disorder impair practical reasoning and the power of control over

Show More
Related
1344 Words | 6 Pages

There is also an inclination to believe that if he had not suffered from this state, then the offence would not have been committed, specially not in the barbaric way it was done. Thus, it cannot be concluded that the accused willfully preformed the act, nor that the mens rea and the actus reus coincided while he was not in a psychotic state. (Roach, 113) Related to this finding is another element that supports the verdict of the Honorable Judge, which is the Principle of Fundamental Justice that states that no one should be “punished for morally involuntary actions.” (Roach, 82) A person who successfully raises the mental disorder defence is considered to be morally innocent of the act because they were not acting freely, in this case, free from psychotic ideations.

Read More
935 Words | 4 Pages

Dr. Mark Nolan, Senior Lecturer at ANU College of Law, says that the NGRI plea “enables defendants to avoid criminal liability and standard criminal punishment” (Nolan 8). The main disagreement with America is the focus whether if the “guilty defendant” pursues to misuse the “Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity” as an alternative to imprisonment or if the criminally accused was at the time of committing the crime “clinically insane” and in need psychotherapy. Therefore, during this discussion of opposing viewpoints concerning the insanity defense being misused or ethical are going to be

Read More
621 Words | 3 Pages

The Durham Rule defines that the defendant cannot be claimed as guilty due to a mental disease and defect at the time; as for the Model Penal Code states as the defendant obtains a mental defect that causes the defendant unable to appreciate the criminality of his conduct. The stability found in Perry does not follow the guidelines or requirements of the insanity defense tests. During the times of the murders Perry was in search of the money that they were targeting, as he searched the houses he came across Nancy’s room and found a doll like purse obtaining a silver dollar. As he attempted to get a hold of the dollar he dropped it causing him to get down on his knees to grasp it. The pitiful moment when he knelt caused him to think, “I had to get down on my knees.

Read More
334 Words | 2 Pages

They argued that Ferguson's insistence on representing himself and not pleading insanity demonstrated his psychological incompetence to stand trial. Some argue that Ferguson's attack was a hate crime; however, the case was not prosecuted.

Read More
728 Words | 3 Pages

This is because the 8th amendment states, “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” Giving someone who has mental disease the death penalty would be seen as a cruel and unusual punishment. Some may argue that even though the killer did murder the man, he did not show any empathy for what he did. This can be proven otherwise because of the fact that someone under the influence of mental disease may not always be able to control their actions. In similar cases such as the Walton vs. Virginia, and Eley vs. Ohio, the same practice was used.

Read More
771 Words | 4 Pages

Holmes processed by declaring guilty for reason of insanity and the judge accepts. Defendant’s Charges The following month on August 26, 2015. A judge in Colorado sentences Holmes to twelve

Read More
1960 Words | 8 Pages

Justice Tindall, whom was present at the M’Naughten trial when the insanity plea became a legal defense, breaks these rules into 3 statements. “Every person is presumed sane unless the contrary can be proven otherwise” (Allnut, et al. 293), which in this case it cannot. “A person suffering a ‘partial delusion’ should be dealt with as if the circumstances of the delusion was real” (Allnut, et al. 293). If Minnie was suffering from some sort of delusions, she would have used that as an excuse once Mr. Hale found her or would’ve had some crazy story on what happened. She got straight to the point.

Read More
1445 Words | 6 Pages

The court dismisses the plea quickly because “the justice system ignores psychosocial complexities and histories in favor of black and white definitions of right and wrong” (Myers). The justice system in this time very rarely accepted pleas of insanity or mental illness. Capote wrote that “after an hour’s conversation with the defendants, the doctor rule[d] out that neither man

Read More
1708 Words | 7 Pages

In today’s day and age, a person does not get put to death for just any crime. A recurring argument against the death penalty is that sentencing a defendant to death violates the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition. The Eighth Amendment protects against cruel and unusual punishment. Mental illness is expressly recognized as a mitigating factor in most death penalty statutes. The Supreme Court came to the conclusion in the case of Ford vs. Wainwright that the use of cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment to execute a person whose mental state renders understanding of capital punishment is impossible.

Read More
523 Words | 3 Pages

Students in the criminal justice department are taught that our main objective in the justice system and our careers is to serve and also protect those involved in our community. For as long as I can remember, my goal in life has been to provide service by protecting and serving those who are close to me. My penchant for service is what eventually led me to the Criminal Justice program at Valdosta State University. This passion for service began at a very young age when my life was turned upside down when I relocated from Puerto Rico to the state of Georgia due to a tragic car accident that led to the end of my father’s life. This sudden change of lifestyle and heartbreak came with an extreme amount of struggle and culture shock not just

Read More
655 Words | 3 Pages

Introduction The period of the trial was the 1910, more specifically the trial started on May 13, 1910 (pg.1). During the 1910 America was still developing into a world power, and many immigrants from other countries where attracted to t he prosperity that was available in America (Baily, S. L., 1983, pg.281). New York State specifically was one of the fastest growing states in the country with one of the best economical prosperity for native workers, and immigrants (Baily, S. L., 1983, pg.281). What is the crime in the trial?

Read More
1042 Words | 5 Pages

He pleaded a temporary insanity defense. (Colloff) So what if you think your mental or crazy, using an insanity defense is not the way to go. If you think you’re going insane, get help. Do not use the temporary insanity defense or any other kind of defense to get you out of trouble.

Read More
1312 Words | 6 Pages

The mens rea is the mental element of an offence. It refers to the mental state of the accused in terms of the offence. If no mens rea is present the accused cannot be convicted with the exception of absolute or strict liability. In order for a person to be guilty of a specific crime it is expected that the defendant has the necessary mens rea.(4) ‘Intention means the conscious objective or purpose of the accused.’(1) Intention is not the same as motive or desire to achieve a particular result.

Read More
1110 Words | 5 Pages

1 Introduction Consent can be defined as voluntary agreement, compliance or permission. Consent is a unilateral act, and so consent may be withdrawn by one person. People are allowed to “waive their legal rights” if they choose to do so. This would mean that the victim, by consenting to suffer harm, excuses the wrongful conduct of the person who has inflicted the harm and thereby excuses him/her of being held liable.

Read More
721 Words | 3 Pages

There are three components that make up the criminal justice system – the police, courts, and correctional facilities – they all work together in order to protect individuals and their rights as a citizen of society to live without the fear of becoming the victim of a crime. Crime, simply put is when a person violates criminal law; the criminal justice system is society’s way of implementing social control. When all three components of the criminal justice work together, it functions almost perfectly. For a person to enter the criminal justice system, the process must begin with the law enforcement.

Read More

More about Elements Of Criminal Law Essay

Related Topics

Open Document