This bill would amend the Penal Code as it relates to the insanity defense in a criminal case. Under the provisions of the bill, an affirmative defense to prosecutiona requires that the defendant appreciate that the conduct was legally or morally wrong. Under current law, an affirmative defense to prosecution requires that the defendant know that the conduct was wrong.  

The proposed change to the insanity defense test may allow more defendants to qualify for   anaffirmative defense to prosecution and thereby decrease demands upon county and state correctional resources due to shorter terms of supervision or incarceration. However, in the case of the bill, it is assumed that the number of offenders supervised or incarcerated under this statute would not significantly impact state correctional agencies’ workload and programs.