Tag Archives: willfulness

Ellison v. United States

Originally published at Cato Institute by Ilya Shapiro and Reilly Stephens | March 14, 2018
Can the government convict you of a crime without showing you had any understanding of the wrongdoing? Mark Ellison was convicted without any such showing and is asking the Supreme Court to take his case. Continue Reading

Heritage Report: The Pressing Need for Mens Rea Reform

Originally published at The Heritage Foundation by John G. Malcolm | 9/1/2015
A number of criminal justice reform proposals have been introduced and are being actively discussed and debated on Capitol Hill these days. Most[1] (but not all[2]) of these proposals involve reforming criminal sentencing practices and prison reform. Notably absent, at least so far, have been any proposals to address mens rea (Latin for a “guilty mind”) reform. Continue Reading