Mens REA Research Papers Samples For Students

Graham was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. Thirteen jurisdictions do not allow life without parole sentences for juvenile offenders convicted of non-homicide crimes. Thirty-seven jurisdictions permit sentences of life without parole for a juvenile non-homicide offender under certain circumstances. The Supreme Court held that sentencing a juvenile to life imprisonment without parole for a non-homicide crime violates the Eighth Amendment.

Key words: actus reus, mens rea, concurrence, accomplice liability, criminal liability, Eight Amendment, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, jurisdiction,

Graham v. Florida
560 U. S. ____ (2010)
Terrence Graham, at age 16, was arrested for attempted armed robbery and armed burglary with assault and battery. The Florida trial court sentenced him to probation and withheld adjudication of guilt. ...

Introduction

Statutory rape is usually defined by the state law concerned. However, statutory rape is distinguished from other forms of rape in that the victim must necessarily be below the age of consent and that lack of consent is not a requisite to the crime on the common understanding that a person below a certain age lacks the capability to give an informed consent. Prior to the development of modern statutory rape laws, statutory rape was used to protect young women and children from the sexual incursion of unwanted males. At that time, women were regarded as chattels or property and as such ...

The System its bases is common law practiced in England and Wales.

Murder
Murder is the most serious crime known to the criminal law which is punished by mandatory life sentence though it is also accepted that deaths can be a result of a unintential act. Murder is described as the unlawful killing with intention to kill a living human being though it can be reduced to manslaughter. Homicide is categorised in three main ways which are murder, manslaughter and infanticide whose sentencing varies.
The English common law has no definition in a statute though its punishment can be prescribed in law. The definition continues to be a matter of the common law. The ...

Mothers should be punished for giving birth to Drug Addicted Children under the following justifications; Mothers are the most important unit in the impacting of morals to their children. In the event criminal tendencies of children stem from the same mothers, it is reasonable to charge mothers of the crime that associates them to lack of duty of care and absolute recklessness (IFC International). Similarly, the event that leads to the giving birth to criminally oriented children can be as a consequence of blatant intentions by the same mothers.
Mothers should be at a position that enforces them to go ...

(School/University)

Defenses used to Challenge Criminal Intent:’

Entrapment
Cole and Smith (2007, p. 69) states that the defense of “entrapment” can be used by counsel to prove that the defendant is bereft of criminal intent. Under this defense, the law would exclude the defendants when it is proven that law enforcement officials coaxed the person to commit the crime. However, this limitation does not preclude the use of the undercover agents to trap the criminals, nor does it mean that the police should create opportunities or situations for criminals to commit crimes. Nevertheless, the defense can be availed of when the police clearly motivated ...

The defendant has been charged with a series of crimes including homicide, assault of a police officer, kidnapping, burglary, and crimes related to drugs. The first issue is whether Stu Dents understands these charges and is competent to stand trial. Competency to stand trial requires that a defendant have the mental capacity to understand the changes against him, the procedures of the court, and the consequences of his being found guilty. He must also be competent enough to be able to help his lawyers plan a legal strategy, remember and describe details related to the crimes charged against him, explain his motives, testify ...