Mens Rea Extras

• Thabo Meli (1954)


  Series of connected acts - The first act was accompanied by the MR but was not the cause of death. The second act was the cause of death but D's argued this was not accompanied by MR. The Court said it was 'impossible to divide up what was really one series of acts' so the convictions were upheld.
• Fagan (1986)


  Continuing act - D drove on to a police officer's foot by mistake. When D realised what he had done and refused to move the car, he formed the MR. The AR was treated as a continuing act and so it didn't matter that the AR was formed afterwards.
• Pembliton (1874)


  Transferred malice - D threw a stone at V but missed and smashed a window. D was not liable for the damage to the window because the MR could not be transferred from a crime against a person to a crime against property.
• Gnango (2011)


  Transferred malice - A passerby was shot in a gang shootout in which D had participated. The person who fired the shot was never caught, but was guilty under transferred malice. D had participated in the attempted murder of himself so was still guilty of the murder under joint enterprise.
• Latimer (1886)


  Transferred malice - The MR directed at the intended victim (the man) was transferred to the unintended victim of the crime (the woman) when he hit her with a belt.