Explain the role of recklessness in determining criminal liability. In everyday language, recklessness means taking an unjust risk. However its definition in law is different to its ordinary English meaning and careful direction as to its meaning in law has to be given to the jury. There are two types of recklessness, which exist, subjective recklessness, also known as Cunningham recklessness, and objective recklessness, which is also know as Caldwell recklessness. Caldwell recklessness only applies to criminal damage. For a defendant to be guilty under Cunningham recklessness he must have consciously undertaken an unjust risk. He must realize that there...
to a risk of which they should have been aware, a fairer test of what constitutes an obvious and serious risk might be 'in the circumstances, should the defendant given such characteristics as age, or any mental incapability have realized there was a risk? This would ensure that blameworthy thoughtlessness would insure liability, but would exclude the unfairness of cases like Elliott.

That was a few proposals for reform for recklessness. My opinion is that they should bring in the last proposal I mentioned because I feel the law is very unfair on people in cases such as Elliott.