Mens Rea 4 murder in Crim Law (1 Viewer)

[-pari-]

okay. i have a question...

the three heads of mens rea in crim law for murder are...
1) intent to kill
2) intent to inflict grievous bodily harm
3) reckless indifference to human life.

one of the three must be satisfied for the accused to be held liable for murder.

in a problem question where we get a hypothetical situation and are asked to assess liability..if there is sufficient evidence to establish (2) intent to inflict GBH..do we need to go on and do (3) reckless indifference, anyway?

i know that i need to acknowledge it as a head of mens rea, but do i need to go "into" it?

thanks in advance !

 

[Xytech]

I always go through all of them, working my way down. If one appears particularly clear, for the third one i'll go "In the alternative, if the above was not made out, the prosecution may argue..."

Best to be comprehensive. If its super obvious, then you don't need to spend much time on it, but always address it.

 

[Eclipse008]

Don't forget 4) Constructive Murder

 

[melsc]

I always go through them all ensuring that I always conclude after each if they would be successful or not and its good to make sure you point out at the end which one is satisfied.