Knowingly is described as

• A. The actor acted with purpose to commit the act without knowledge
• B. The actor purposely intended to cause harm
• C. No harm to the victim (Knowing, know, knows.)
• D. The actor believed harm would occur but did nothing

Answer: (C)

Knowingly centers on awareness of the act or its surrounding facts, not on a goal to cause harm. When someone acts knowingly, they are aware that what they are doing is of a certain type or that the relevant circumstances exist. The key point is the mental state regarding the act itself, not necessarily the outcome or whether harm occurs. This is why the option describing no required harm to the victim fits as the best description: the knowledge is about the act or its facts, not about producing harm or about any particular outcome.

The other ideas mix up this mental state with intent to harm or with a failure to act. Acting with purpose to commit the act without knowledge contradicts knowingly because it claims a lack of knowledge. Purposely intending to cause harm describes a different level of intent. Believing harm would occur but doing nothing aligns more with recklessness or negligence, not with knowingly.