STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          6596
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                      March 9, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced by M. of A. ABBATE -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Codes
        AN  ACT  to amend the penal law, in relation to increasing penalties for
          certain violent felonies
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1.  Subdivision 3 of section 70.08 of the penal law is amended
     2  by adding a new paragraph (a-2) to read as follows:
     3    (a-2)  Where  the  predicate  violent felonies are at least class B or
     4  above, a defendant convicted of aggravated assault upon a police officer
     5  or a peace officer pursuant to section 120.11 of this chapter  shall  be
     6  sentenced to life without parole pursuant to subdivision five of section
     7  70.00 of this article.
     8    §  2.  Subdivision  5 of section 70.00 of the penal law, as amended by
     9  chapter 482 of the laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows:
    10    5.  Life  imprisonment  without  parole.  Notwithstanding  any   other
    11  provision  of  law,  a  defendant sentenced to life imprisonment without
    12  parole shall not  be  or  become  eligible  for  parole  or  conditional
    13  release.  For  purposes of commitment and custody, other than parole and
    14  conditional release, such sentence shall be deemed to be  an  indetermi-
    15  nate  sentence.  A defendant may be sentenced to life imprisonment with-
    16  out parole upon conviction for the crime of murder in the  first  degree
    17  as  defined in section 125.27 of this chapter and in accordance with the
    18  procedures provided by law for imposing a sentence  for  such  crime.  A
    19  defendant  must  be  sentenced  to life imprisonment without parole upon
    20  conviction for the crime of terrorism as defined in  section  490.25  of
    21  this  chapter,  where the specified offense the defendant committed is a
    22  class A-I felony; the crime of criminal possession of a chemical  weapon
    23  or biological weapon in the first degree as defined in section 490.45 of
    24  this  chapter;  or  the  crime  of  criminal use of a chemical weapon or
    25  biological weapon in the first degree as defined in  section  490.55  of
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD05110-01-7

        A. 6596                             2
     1  this  chapter; provided, however, that nothing in this subdivision shall
     2  preclude or prevent a sentence of  death  when  the  defendant  is  also
     3  convicted  of  the  crime  of  murder  in the first degree as defined in
     4  section  125.27  of this chapter.  A defendant must be sentenced to life
     5  imprisonment without parole upon conviction for the crime of  murder  in
     6  the  second  degree  as defined in subdivision five of section 125.25 of
     7  this chapter or for the crime of aggravated murder as defined in  subdi-
     8  vision  one  of  section  125.26  of  this  chapter.  A defendant may be
     9  sentenced to life imprisonment without parole upon  conviction  for  the
    10  crime  of  aggravated  murder  as  defined in subdivision two of section
    11  125.26 of this chapter.  A defendant must be sentenced to  life  without
    12  parole  upon a conviction of aggravated assault upon a police officer or
    13  a peace officer pursuant to section 120.11 of this chapter,  where  such
    14  conviction  is  the third violent felony offense for which the defendant
    15  has been convicted.
    16    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, that the amend-
    17  ments to subdivision 3 of section 70.08 of the penal law made by section
    18  one of this act shall survive  the  expiration  and  reversion  of  such
    19  subdivision  as provided in section 74 of chapter 3 of the laws of 1995,
    20  as amended.