WORD OF THE DAY

The legal term mens rea refers to a person's mental state when they commit a crime — specifically their deliberate intent to harm someone or otherwise break the law.

The literal meaning of the Latin mens rea is "guilty mind," which comes from a much longer phrase that means "the act is not culpable unless the mind is guilty." Mens rea is a standard in criminal law — unless there's proof that someone intended to commit a crime, they generally can't be found guilty. The prosecution has to show that a guilty act was committed by a person with a guilty mind.