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Proposed REVISIONS OF THE PENAL LAW AND THE CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE in the defense of insanity in the State of New York have been introduced in the State Legislature. Dr. Paul H. Hoch, Commissioner of Mental Hygiene, stated that the proposed revisions will bring into line with present-day psychiatric knowledge the definition of insanity and the determination of criminal responsibility. These are now delineated in the M'Naghten Rule which originated in England in 1843 and was later widely adopted in the United States. The M'Naghten Rule bases criminal responsibility on knowing the difference between right and wrong, defining legal insanity as the failure to understand this difference. The amendment to the penal law provides that a person will not be liable for his criminal act if as 'a result of mental disease or defect he lacks substantial capacity (a) to know or to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct; or (b) to conform his conduct to the requirements of law'. The companion bill proposes alterations in the code of criminal procedure to permit psychiatrists testifying in criminal cases to give complete reports on their findings and whatever explanation they deem necessary to illuminate fully the psychiatric aspects of the case.