In the United States, citizens “can be found criminally responsible if he performs a prohibited act intentionally and with a statutorily specified mental state (which may span such things as ‘purpose’, ‘knowledge’, ‘recklessness’, or ‘negligence’)” (Mobbs et. al., 2007, p. 697). As such, the foundation for a diminished capacity defense is effectually divided by two important factors that establish the physical and mental state of the defendant at the time of the crime: actus reus (meaning “guilty act”) and mens rea (meaning “guilty mind”). The term actus reus simply refers to the fact that a defendant effectually committed the crime as accused (Edersheim, Brendel, & Price, 2012). Mens rea, on the other hand, is defined as “a principle of criminal
