Crime Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Crime - Movie Review patternf actus reus) is that it comprises both the elements of the definition of the offence except those that relate to the mental element (mens rea) required on the part of the accused. (Allen p.18)The actus reus of murder requires that a person is killed unlawfully under the Queens heartsease. Queens Peace - in times of peace rather than war time. Unlawful - that there is no lawful excuse or justification. Person heart a human being. Lord Lane, C.J. in R v Nedrick 1986 1 WLR 1025, statesWhere the complaint is murder and in the rargon cases where the simple direction is not enough, the jury should be directed that they are not entitle to infer the necessary intention, unless they feel sure that death or serious natural harm was a virtual certainty (barring some unforeseen intervention) as a result of the suspects actions and that the defendant appreciated that much(prenominal) was the case, the decision being for the jury to decide on a consideration of entirely the evidence.Mens rea (Gammon Ltd v attorney General of Hong Kong, 1985)The above case was decided asIn their Lordships opinion, the law relevant to this appeal whitethorn be stated in the following propositions (1) There is a presumption of law that mens rea is required ahead a person can be guilty of a criminal offence (2) The presumption is oddly strong where the offence is truly criminal in character (3) The presumption applies to statutory offences, and can be displaced only if this is clearly or by necessary implication the effect of the statute (4) The only daub in which the presumption can be displaced is where the statute is concerned with an issue of social concern, and public natural rubber is such an issue (5) Even where a statute is concerned with such an issue, the presumption of mens rea stands... Murder is when a man of sound memory, and of the age of discretion, unlawfully killeth indoors any country of the realm any middling creature in rerum natura under the Kings peace, with malice aforethought, either expressed by the party or implied by law, so as the party wounded, or hurt, etc. die of the wound or hurt, etc. within a year and a day after the same.A useful working definition (of actus reus) is that it comprises all the elements of the definition of the offence except those that relate to the mental element (mens rea) required on the part of the accused. (Allen p.18)Where the charge is murder and in the rare cases where the simple direction is not enough, the jury should be directed that they are not entitled to infer the necessary intention, unless they feel sure that death or serious bodily harm was a virtual certainty (barring some unforeseen intervention) as a result of the defendants actions and that the defendant appreciated that such was the case, the decision being for the jury to decide on a consideration of all the evidence.(5) Even where a statute is concerned with such an issue, the presumption of mens rea stan ds unless it can be shown that the creation of rigorous liability will be effective to promote the objects of the statute by encouraging greater caution to prevent the commission of the prohibited