Suç İşleme Niyeti - Criminal Intent

We've all heard that expression, "guilty mind." What does this mean? If someone commits a crime, a major factor that prosecutors look at is the person's state of mind. Every crime has two primary elements - the criminal act and the mental state. The mental state of the person is examined because crimes can be committed with premeditation in a cold-blooded manner. Or they can be committed recklessly at the spur of the moment. The more intentional and purposeful the state of mind, the more heavy the punishment.

The worst state of mind a criminal could have is an "intentional" state of mind. If you think of spy thriller novels where international assassins set up a sniper's nest on the roof of a building, that conduct is clearly intentional. There's no doubt about the person's plans. They picked a spot. They studied the habits of their target. And they selected their time. If you saw the assassin making his plans and checking his rifle in thriller "Day of the Jackal," https://youtu.be/90ZyH8yBTck that is an example of intentional.

From this "intentional state-of-mind," the scale moves down in severity. The criminal could have acted "knowingly." In acting knowingly, the criminal is reasonably certain their action will result in harm. If someone flips a lit firecracker over their shoulder getting off a croweded elevator, they know what will happen. They could say all they want that it wasn't their specific intention to hurt anyone, but the outcome is clear to a reasonable person. That is acting "knowingly."

At the lower end of the scale where punishments are not as severe, this involves the criminal acting recklessly or carelessly. Here, the intent was not to bring about harm, but the reckless or careless state of mind hurt someone. A good example of recklessness is a drag race on a crowded street. Here is an amazing video of a highly skilled pilot in a carefully planned aerobatic feat... flying an airplane through a tunnel. https://youtu.be/19fQAxys9q8 Now if someone unskilled did that as a stunt when commuters were in a tunnel, it would be an example of recklessness.

Why do prosecutors look at these factors? It's because criminal justice systems set the heaviest punishments when the criminal's acts were deliberate, malicious, and done with planning. It's worse than simply using bad judgment or being grossly careless.

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