Dear Editor,
Question for everyone: a criminal law has both mens rea and actus reus elements to it.
How is a certain hate crime a mental wellness issue if a person gives death threats, goes into a racist rant when he thinks he is not being filmed, and suddenly becomes very cordial and nice when he notices that he is being filmed?
Do these actions not fulfill the mens rea and actus reus elements of a criminal act?
This, in my opinion, is a sign that he is of a rational mind and simply committed these hate crimes because he thought that he would get away with it.
These are not mental wellness issues but in fact the actions of a devious and criminal mind.
Alvin Lee
RICHMOND
