mens rea

Meaning

Noun

• A reactive mind, a conscious knowing by the individual that an act was committed, either by themselves or by another.
• A guilty mind, the conscious knowing of a perpetrator while committing an act that the act is illicit.

Origin

• From Latin mēns + reus, from the English common law precept Actus non facit reum nisi mens rea sit ("The act does not make a person guilty unless the mind is also guilty").