a criminal intention or knowledge that an act is wrong. It is assumed to be an ingredient of all criminal offences although some minor statutory offences are punishable irrespective of it
Compare actus reus
Word origin
Latin, literally: guilty mind
mens rea in American English
(ˈmenz ˈriə)
noun
Law
a criminal intent
Word origin
[1860–65; ‹ NL mēns rea]This word is first recorded in the period 1860–65. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: calibrate, institutionalism, jumping jack, mutualism, trade name
Examples of 'mens rea' in a sentence
mens rea
It was proving mens rea, the 'guilty mind', that was the stumbling block.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Of course, criminal responsibility would only attach to those with the necessary mens rea.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
The second, mens rea, is one of the thorniest ?
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
That decision was based primarily on an exception to the normal rule that actus reus and mens rea should coincide.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
I have to be careful here but under mens rea different judges have different views of criminal liability.
The Sun (2015)
Could they then be expected to prove that the defendant had the necessary mens rea?
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
That was not, of course, to decry the normal presumption of statutory interpretation that mens rea was a necessary ingredient of a criminal offence.