Most legal excuses for criminal responsibility are based on the belief that certain offenders lack the capacity or competence or have diminished capacity or competence to form:

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Mens rea refers to the mental state required for a criminal act to be committed. Many legal excuses for criminal responsibility, such as infancy, lack of mental capacity, and insanity, are based on the belief that the offender lacked the capacity or competence to form a guilty state of mind. Actus rea, on the other hand, refers to the physical act of committing a crime. Legality refers to whether an act is against the law and mala prohibita refers to acts that are only considered criminal because they are prohibited by law, rather than being inherently wrong.

Most Legal Excuses for Criminal Responsibility Are Based on the Belief