Unlike general intent, specific intent may not be inferred from the commission of the unlawful act. Most criminal laws require that the specified crime be committed with knowledge of the act's criminality and with criminal intent. However, some statutes make an act criminal regardless of intent. When a statute is silent as to intent, knowledge of criminality and criminal intent need not be proved. Such statutes are called strict liability laws.
Examples are laws forbidding the sale of alcohol and statutory rape laws.
The doctrine of transferred intent is another nuance of criminal intent. Transferred intent occurs where one intends the harm that is actually caused, but the injury occurs to a different victim or object. To illustrate, the law allows prosecution where the defendant intends to burn one house but actually burns another. The concept of transferred intent applies to homicide, battery, and arson. Felony murder statutes evince a special brand of transferred intent.