For the insanity defense to be used successfully today, it is no longer sufficient to demonstrate that the defendant suffers from a mental illness that causes him or her to be unable to know right from wrong. Rather, in some U.S. jurisdictions, the mental illness must be so "severe" that the defendant did not even know what he or she was doing. This is an example of

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The statement describes a situation where the criteria for the insanity defense have become stricter, likely as a reaction to public or legal dissatisfaction with previous standards. This tightening of standards can be seen as a "putative backlash," where changes are made in response to perceived abuses or misapplications of the law.

For the Insanity Defense to Be Used Successfully Today, It