Malice aforethought

MENS REA

In most common law jurisdictions, the American Law Institute's Model Penal Code, and in the various U.S. state statutes, which have codified homicide definitions, the term has been abandoned or substantially revised. The four states of mind that are now recognized as constituting "malice aforethought" in murder prosecutions are as follows:^[18]

1. intent to kill
2. intent to inflict serious bodily injury
3. extremely reckless disregard for the value of human life
4. felony murder rule

Since there are 4 different states of mind of malice aforethought, it can be hard to find the differences. It is easiest to break these categories up by premeditation, or express malice and reckless endangerment, or implied malice. Intent to kill or to inflict serious bodily injury would be considered express. This does not mean that the accused made a plan far in advance, but it could even be in the moment of the crime. If the person did the action knowing it would hurt or kill the other person, there was express malice involved, which is a form of malice aforethought.^[19]

As stated above, malice aforethought does not require that the person accused premeditated to hurt a person, but that they knew their actions could lead to someone's harm.^[20] This is implied malice, which requires that a person knowingly did an act that they knew was dangerous, and acted without concern for other people's safety.^[21] Intention can also be found where the perpetrator acts with gross recklessness showing lack of care for human life, commonly referred to as "depraved-heart murder", or during the commission of or while in flight from a felony or attempted felony (termed felony murder).

Notably, the principle of transferred intent causes an accused who intended to kill one person but inadvertently killed another instead to remain guilty of murder. The intent to kill the first person suffices.