mens rea

Meanings

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

Etymology

From Latin mēns + reus (literally “guilty mind”), 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").