Bonnie, Couglin, Jeffries and Low's Criminal Law positions the authors' authoritative grasp of the subject against a background of cultural and political debate. The text deals with profound questions integral To The study of criminal law in a changing society: current controversies in the law of rape and sexual assault, The Bernard Goetz case And The use of deadly force in self-defense, defenses available to battered women, The insanity defense, and capital punishment. The third edition also includes a new chapter on mens rea in federal crimes.