Case
Juan hated his mother-in-law and decided to kill her. He bought some poison and was driving to her house to poison her tea when someone walked into the street from between two parked cars and Juan could not stop before hitting and killing the pedestrian. When he examined the body, Juan realized that he had killed his mother-in-law and he smiled. Should he be charged with murder? Why?
Solution
Although Juan’s case could be misinterpreted as a driving accident, after determining that the driver and the victim are connected by family relations, Juan should be inspected. Finding the poison that Juan bought to poison his mother-in-law and kept somewhere in his car could be a significant piece of evidence. Moreover, if Juan was driving on the way to kill his mother-in-law, he possibly hit her somewhere near her house.
As crime contains two elements, a psychological state, also named mens rea, and the guilty act itself, there should be a concurrence between his psychological state and his act in Juan’s case. Juan should be charged with murder based on his mens rea or psychological state. Therefore, the pieces of evidence, particularly the poison in his car and the fact that Juan hit his mother-in-law close to the place where she lived, could serve to prove his psychological guilt. According to Al-Shamari, mens rea is necessary for punishing criminals, as there is no need to punish someone who caused an injury to someone without a “blameworthy mental state” (2019, p. 97). Thus, Juan should be charged with murder and punished according to his act.
In a criminal trial, the prosecution should prove that Juan’s psychological state concurred with the guilty act. In the end, if it was not for the accident, Juan would still poison his mother-in-law and would face the consequences of being charged with murder, which proves that Juan poses a danger to society. As the criminal law system is designed to protect the population and to keep dangerous people from harming the people, Juan should be acknowledged as a danger to society and face punishment for his actions.
Reference
Al-Shamari, K.S. (2019). The emergence of mens rea in common law and civil law systems. Kilaw Journal, 7(1), 95-126.