> Even if intent isn’t written into a specific law, the whole system is built to specifically allow intent to be considered in so many stages.

Mental state (which is much broader than intent, though intent is an aspect of it) is an important consideration for criminal law and most offenses have a required mental state (strict liability offenses are a small minority). And mental state is, yes, considered broadly beyond the formal requirements, too.

But to say that “intent is literally the heart of criminal law” is both literally false and substantively misleading.