______________ means guilty

Solution

Mens rea is a legal term that generally refers to the guilty mental state, the lack of which negates the crime situation on any given occasion and is one of the most important aspects of criminal liability. Only when an act is done intentionally that is prohibited by law is it considered a criminal offence. Only when an act is committed with a guilty conscience does it become criminal. Latin maxim ‘actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea’—the act does not render one guilty unless the thought is also guilty—expresses the essential concept of the principle of mens rea.