The Illustrated Guide to Criminal Law
Chapter 6: Mens Rea
Page 10: Mental State

Five children. Each equally innocent. Each equally dead. Each death clearly caused by the actions of an adult.

Four little gravestones, one flat grave marker, next to a little hill with a lone tree.

The harm is the same in each case. And yet most people would feel that none of the adults are equally culpable.

The difference is not in the harm done, but in the MENTAL STATE of the person who did it.

This mental state, or “MENS REA” in Latin, is the critical factor in criminal law. It is what makes the difference between a serious crime and a minor crime—or even no crime at all.