Criminal Law LLB Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Criminal Law LLB - Essay Example The objective element of Bob’s actions was to use his firearm to either murder or cause GBH upon Aran to an extent where he could no longer tease him. Although, the general impacts of his actions may be scanty considering that Aran escaped unhurt, Bob’s actions can be construed as physically well-intended to silence the victim hence the existence of the actus reus. The actus reus in the murder of Lenny can be proved on the grounds that: a) Bob’s actions of firing a live round in a crowded place was negligent of the potential harm that could be caused to other people at the facility, and did kill Lenny; b) Bob’s actions of taking aim at his brother was unlawful and involved the risk of harm, that came true in Lenny’s death (Allen, 2013). In this case, Bob’s mens rea concerns his state of mind when he was committing the offense. Bob’s actions show his carefully-planned intention (to harm Aran and end the teasing), recklessness (by using a lethal weapon to achieve the ends in a social setting) and negligence (acting unreasonably against Aran’s teases). Section Eight of the Criminal Justice Act 1967 requires the jury to determine mens rea by examining whether a criminal did intend to or predicted the outcome of their criminal conduct based on the evidence showing the situation. According to Allen (2013), Section 8 was applied in the case of R v Hyam  [1975] AC 55 where the House of Lords declared the subjective test as admissible. The court established that a criminal suspect’s intent would be met by establishing foresight of the impacts of the actions. In light of this, Bob’s mens rea lies in his intent to harm Aran with malice afterthought of silencing his teases. In Lenny’s case, Bob’s knowing abuse of a firearm whose lethality is very high, constituted mens rea in the attempted murder of Aran, which fell on Lenny. Bob