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

Criminal Scenarios - Essay Example Mens rea refers to the intention of the person 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, Clark’s 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 reasonable precautions to avoid being mistaken for animals by wearing orange jackets. However, his action, or actus reus, led to the death of both brothers. Apart from that, there were no preliminary inchoate crimes that can lead one to believe that Clark intended to shoot and kill Andrew and Blake. There is no scope for Clark to claim a justification defence that could prove that while he committed the crime of homicide it was justified under the circumstances. Clark can be held liable under the felony murder rule. 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 shot Andrew and Blake.