Bill Text: NY A08663 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Prohibits persons convicted of murder or sentenced to life without parole or where the defendant acting either alone or with one or more other persons, commits or attempts to commit robbery, burglary, kidnapping, arson, rape in the first degree, criminal sexual act in the first degree, sexual abuse in the first degree, aggravated sexual abuse, escape in the first degree, or escape in the second degree, and, in the course of and in furtherance of such crime or of immediate flight therefrom, he or she, or another participant, if there be any, intentionally causes the death of: a police officer; a peace officer; a firefighter; emergency medical technician, ambulance driver, paramedic, physician or registered nurse involved in a first response team, or any other individual who, in the course of official duties, performs emergency response; or an employee of a state correctional institution or was an employee of a local correctional facility, when such person was engaged in the course of performing their official duties, from being eligible for commutation of sentence.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 18-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-05-03 - held for consideration in codes [A08663 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-A08663-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          8663

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 10, 2022
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. LAWLER -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Codes

        AN  ACT  to  amend  the  executive law and the penal law, in relation to
          clemency

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Section 15 of the executive law, as added by chapter 545 of
     2  the laws of 1971, is amended to read as follows:
     3    § 15. Power  of governor to grant reprieves, commutations and pardons.
     4  The governor has power to grant  reprieves,  commutations  and  pardons,
     5  after conviction, for all offenses, except treason, murder, crimes where
     6  the  defendant is sentenced to life imprisonment without parole or where
     7  the defendant acting either alone or with one  or  more  other  persons,
     8  commits or attempts to commit robbery, burglary, kidnapping, arson, rape
     9  in  the  first  degree,  criminal sexual act in the first degree, sexual
    10  abuse in the first degree, aggravated sexual abuse, escape in the  first
    11  degree,  or  escape  in  the second degree, and, in the course of and in
    12  furtherance of such crime or of immediate flight therefrom, he  or  she,
    13  or  another participant, if there be any, intentionally causes the death
    14  of: a police officer as defined in subdivision  thirty-four  of  section
    15  1.20  of the criminal procedure law; a peace officer as defined in para-
    16  graph a of subdivision twenty-one, subdivision twenty-three, twenty-four
    17  or sixty-two (employees of the division for youth) of  section  2.10  of
    18  the criminal procedure law; a firefighter; emergency medical technician,
    19  ambulance driver, paramedic, physician or registered nurse involved in a
    20  first response team, or any other individual who, in the course of offi-
    21  cial  duties,  performs  emergency  response;  or an employee of a state
    22  correctional institution or was an  employee  of  a  local  correctional
    23  facility  as  defined  in  subdivision  two  of  section  forty  of  the
    24  correction law, when such person was engaged in the course of performing
    25  their official duties, and cases of impeachment, upon  such  conditions,
    26  and with such restrictions and limitations, as he or she may think prop-
    27  er, subject to the regulations provided in this article.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD13358-03-1
        A. 8663                             2

     1    §  2.  Subdivision  5 of section 70.00 of the penal law, as amended by
     2  section 40-a of part WWW of chapter 59 of the laws of 2017,  is  amended
     3  to read as follows:
     4    5.   Life  imprisonment  without  parole.  Notwithstanding  any  other
     5  provision of law, a defendant sentenced  to  life  imprisonment  without
     6  parole  shall  not be or become eligible for commutation, pardon, parole
     7  or conditional release. For purposes of commitment  and  custody,  other
     8  than parole and conditional release, such sentence shall be deemed to be
     9  an  indeterminate  sentence. A defendant may be sentenced to life impri-
    10  sonment without parole upon conviction for the crime of  murder  in  the
    11  first degree as defined in section 125.27 of this chapter and in accord-
    12  ance  with  the  procedures  provided by law for imposing a sentence for
    13  such crime. A defendant who was eighteen years of age or  older  at  the
    14  time  of the commission of the crime must be sentenced to life imprison-
    15  ment without parole upon  conviction  for  the  crime  of  terrorism  as
    16  defined  in  section 490.25 of this chapter, where the specified offense
    17  the defendant committed is a class A-I felony;  the  crime  of  criminal
    18  possession of a chemical weapon or biological weapon in the first degree
    19  as  defined  in section 490.45 of this chapter; or the crime of criminal
    20  use of a chemical weapon or biological weapon in  the  first  degree  as
    21  defined in section 490.55 of this chapter; provided, however, that noth-
    22  ing  in  this  subdivision shall preclude or prevent a sentence of death
    23  when the defendant is also convicted of the crime of murder in the first
    24  degree as defined in section 125.27 of this chapter. A defendant who was
    25  seventeen years of age or younger at the time of the commission  of  the
    26  crime  may be sentenced, in accordance with law, to the applicable inde-
    27  terminate sentence with a maximum term of life imprisonment. A defendant
    28  must be sentenced to life imprisonment without  parole  upon  conviction
    29  for  the  crime of murder in the second degree as defined in subdivision
    30  five of section 125.25 of this chapter or for the  crime  of  aggravated
    31  murder  as defined in subdivision one of section 125.26 of this chapter.
    32  A defendant may be sentenced to life imprisonment  without  parole  upon
    33  conviction  for the crime of aggravated murder as defined in subdivision
    34  two of section 125.26 of this chapter.
    35    § 3. This act shall take effect on the  same  date  and  in  the  same
    36  manner  as  a  chapter  of  the  laws  of 2021 proposing an amendment to
    37  section 4 of article IV of the  constitution,  relating  to  prohibiting
    38  persons  convicted  of  murder  or sentenced to life without parole from
    39  being eligible for commutation of sentence, takes effect.