What Is The Difference Between Intention And Recklessness

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Explain the difference between intention and recklessness as mens rea terms, identify precisely the definition of recklessness that you think should be used by the courts and explain your reasons in favour of this definition. The mens rea of a crime is considered as the mental element of a crime, whether or not the defendant knew what the were doing. It is a supposed event in a persons mind and therefore difficult to prove. Intention and recklessness are two categories of mens rea. Intention is the highest form of mens rea. It is when the defendant makes a conscious decision to carry out their actions or to bring about a certain state of events. In The People (DPP) v Murray 1 Walsh J defined intention as "to have in mind a fixed purpose to reach that desired objective". There are two types of intention; direct intention and oblique intention. Direct intention is considered to be quite straightforward, It is when a person acts deliberately to ensure a certain outcome. An example of direct intent would be if a defendant intends to kill their friend, takes out a gun and shoots their friend dead. The defendant has killed their friend and therefore achieved their intended result. Oblique intention is more complex. Oblique intention is described as when defendant acts to bring about a certain outcome but as a direct result of their actions they bring about another. In this case the defendant desires their friends death but may set their house on fire and cause not only the

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