... mens rea, thus signifying their guiltily state of mind. This implies that they should be held liable for their actions, thus making them both blameworthy and at fault in relation to the committed crime. There is a distinctive hierarchy set within mens rea, the highest of which, in relation to fault, is intention. This requires the defendants to desire the outcome of the crime or know that it will be a virtual certainty as a result. For a defendant to be successfully convicted of section 18 under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, the most serious of the offences, the defendant must intend to wound or cause GBH. Secondly recklessness, a subjective test, attempts to establish whether the defendant was aware of the risk but never the less took that risk, (Cunningham) hence making him again blameworthy in relation to his clear disregard for human life. The levels of ...

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