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MPC culpability definitions
The Model Penal Code defines four culpability requirements, or mental states: purposely, knowingly, recklessly, and negligently. They go from most culpable to least. To hurt someone purposely is worse than to do so recklessly or negligently.
This section is directed primarily to legislatures. It urges them to re-write their criminal statutes using only one of these four terms, eliminating the far broader and less clear mens rea terms once used. That is, eliminate terms like maliciously or wickedly, which have no fixed meaning. Once a the legislature has re-written its statutes to use only those newly defined mens rea terms, courts will then know exactly how to interpret their meaning.
These four new mens rea terms are defined in Section 2.02(2) of the MPC as follows. Please read these carefully several times and do your best to understand them.
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