Generally, for a criminal act to have occurred, a person must have committed the guilty act and had a wrongful mental state. … A mistake of fact, as opposed to a mistake of law, can often excuse criminal liability if the mistake negates the mental state necessary to commit the crime.

What is the definition of the reckless mental attitude?

A person acts recklessly with respect to a material element of an offense when he consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the material element exists or will result from his conduct.

Can there be a crime without mens rea?

There might be actus without mens rea. … However, sometimes an act alone is sufficient to constitute a crime without the existence of mens rea. The guilty intent is not necessarily that of intending the very act or thing done or prohibited by law, but it must at least be the intention to do something wrong.