During a heated argument, a man deliberately swung a baseball bat at his neighbor's leg, struck the leg, and caused a severe injury that required medical treatment. Assume the jurisdiction follows common-law definitions of assault and battery. Which mens rea category best describes the man's mental state at the moment he swung the bat?
Battery is a general-intent crime. The prosecution must show that the defendant intended the act of harmful or offensive contact; it need not prove an additional purpose beyond that contact. Here, the man purposely swung the bat and made harmful contact, so he acted with general intent. A crime requiring specific intent would demand proof of an intent to achieve some further goal. Recklessness and criminal negligence involve conscious or grossly unreasonable risk-taking rather than a purposeful strike, so they do not fit these facts.
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