Bill Text: NY S05586 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Provides for family members of a crime victim and interested parties to make statements to members of the parole board; provides that such oral statement shall be made to the members of the state board of parole who will determine whether the defendant is released.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 8-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2025-02-25 - REFERRED TO CODES [S05586 Detail]
Download: New_York-2025-S05586-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5586 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE February 25, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. LANZA, HELMING, MATTERA, MURRAY, OBERACKER, PALUMBO, STEC, WEIK -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law and the executive law, in relation to requiring that all family members of a crime victim and all interested parties who want to give a victim impact statement to parole board members be allowed to do so The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 440.50 of the criminal procedure law, as added by 2 chapter 496 of the laws of 1978, subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 322 3 of the laws of 2021, and subdivision 2 as amended by chapter 14 of the 4 laws of 1985, is amended to read as follows: 5 § 440.50 Notice to crime victims, family members of a crime victim or an 6 interested party of case disposition. 7 1. Upon the request of a victim of a crime, a family member of a crime 8 victim or an interested party, or in any event in all cases in which the 9 final disposition includes a conviction of a violent felony offense as 10 defined in section 70.02 of the penal law, a felony defined in article 11 one hundred twenty-five of such law, or a felony defined in article one 12 hundred thirty of such law, the district attorney shall, within sixty 13 days of the final disposition of the case, inform the victim or a family 14 member of a crime victim or an interested party who requests to be 15 informed by letter of such final disposition. If such final disposition 16 results in the commitment of the defendant to the custody of the depart- 17 ment of corrections and community supervision for an indeterminate 18 sentence, the notice provided to the crime victim, a family member of a 19 crime victim or interested party shall also inform the victim of [his or20her] their right to submit a written, audiotaped, or videotaped victim 21 impact statement to the department of corrections and community super- 22 vision or to meet personally with [a member] members of the state board EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD09689-01-5S. 5586 2 1 of parole who will determine whether the defendant is released at a time 2 and place separate from the personal interview between a member or 3 members of the board and the incarcerated individual and make such a 4 statement, subject to procedures and limitations contained in rules of 5 the board, both pursuant to subdivision two of section two hundred 6 fifty-nine-i of the executive law. A copy of such letter shall be 7 provided to the board of parole. The right of the victim, a family 8 member of a crime victim or an interested party under this subdivision 9 to submit a written victim impact statement or to meet personally with 10 [a member] members of the state board of parole applies to each personal 11 interview between a member or members of the board and the incarcerated 12 individual. 13 2. As used in this section, "victim" means any person alleged or 14 found, upon the record, to have sustained physical or financial injury 15 to person or property as a direct result of the crime charged or a 16 person alleged or found to have sustained, upon the record, an offense 17 under article one hundred thirty of the penal law, or in the case of a 18 homicide or minor child, the victim's family. 19 3. As used in this section, "final disposition" means an ultimate 20 termination of the case at the trial level including, but not limited 21 to, dismissal, acquittal, or imposition of sentence by the court, or a 22 decision by the district attorney, for whatever reason, to not file the 23 case. 24 4. As used in this section, "family member of a crime victim" means a 25 member of the victim's immediate family who is at least sixteen years 26 old. 27 5. As used in this section, "interested party" shall mean a person, 28 who is not a family member of a crime victim, designated by the judge 29 who imposes the sentence on the defendant, as a person who has an 30 involvement with the case sufficient to make such person an interested 31 party. The judge who imposes the sentence on a defendant shall designate 32 interested parties, if any, at the time of sentencing. 33 § 2. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 2 of section 259-i of the executive 34 law, as amended by chapter 322 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read 35 as follows: 36 (c) (A) Discretionary release on parole shall not be granted merely as 37 a reward for good conduct or efficient performance of duties while 38 confined but after considering if there is a reasonable probability 39 that, if such incarcerated individual is released, [he or she] such 40 incarcerated individual will live and remain at liberty without violat- 41 ing the law, and that [his or her] such incarcerated individual's 42 release is not incompatible with the welfare of society and will not so 43 deprecate the seriousness of [his or her] such incarcerated individual's 44 crime as to undermine respect for law. In making the parole release 45 decision, the procedures adopted pursuant to subdivision four of section 46 two hundred fifty-nine-c of this article shall require that the follow- 47 ing be considered: (i) the institutional record including program goals 48 and accomplishments, academic achievements, vocational education, train- 49 ing or work assignments, therapy and interactions with staff and incar- 50 cerated individuals; (ii) performance, if any, as a participant in a 51 temporary release program; (iii) release plans including community 52 resources, employment, education and training and support services 53 available to the incarcerated individual; (iv) any deportation order 54 issued by the federal government against the incarcerated individual 55 while in the custody of the department and any recommendation regarding 56 deportation made by the commissioner of the department pursuant toS. 5586 3 1 section one hundred forty-seven of the correction law; (v) any current 2 or prior statement made to the board by the crime victim or the victim's 3 representative, where the crime victim is deceased or is mentally or 4 physically incapacitated or a family member of a crime victim or inter- 5 ested party as defined in section 440.50 of the criminal procedure law; 6 (vi) the length of the determinate sentence to which the incarcerated 7 individual would be subject had [he or she] such incarcerated individual 8 received a sentence pursuant to section 70.70 or section 70.71 of the 9 penal law for a felony defined in article two hundred twenty or former 10 article two hundred twenty-one of the penal law; (vii) the seriousness 11 of the offense with due consideration to the type of sentence, length of 12 sentence and recommendations of the sentencing court, the district 13 attorney, the attorney for the incarcerated individual, the pre-sentence 14 probation report as well as consideration of any mitigating and aggra- 15 vating factors, and activities following arrest prior to confinement; 16 and (viii) prior criminal record, including the nature and pattern of 17 offenses, adjustment to any previous probation or parole supervision and 18 institutional confinement. The board shall provide toll free telephone 19 access for crime victims, family members and interested parties as 20 defined in section 440.50 of the criminal procedure law. In the case of 21 an oral statement made in accordance with subdivision one of section 22 440.50 of the criminal procedure law, [the parole board member shall23present a written report of the statement to the parole board] such oral 24 statement shall be made to the members of the board who will determine 25 whether the defendant is released. A crime victim's representative shall 26 mean the crime victim's closest surviving relative, the committee or 27 guardian of such person, or the legal representative of any such person. 28 Such statement submitted by the victim or victim's representative, or a 29 family member of a crime victim or interested party as defined in 30 section 440.50 of the criminal procedure law may include information 31 concerning threatening or intimidating conduct toward the victim, the 32 victim's representative, or the victim's family, made by the person 33 sentenced and occurring after the sentencing. Such information may 34 include, but need not be limited to, the threatening or intimidating 35 conduct of any other person who or which is directed by the person 36 sentenced. Any statement by a victim [or], the victim's representative, 37 a family member of a crime victim or an interested party made to the 38 board shall be maintained by the department in the file provided to the 39 board when interviewing the incarcerated individual in consideration of 40 release. A victim [or], victim's representative, family member of a 41 crime victim or interested party who has submitted a written request to 42 the department for the transcript of such interview shall be provided 43 such transcript as soon as it becomes available. 44 (B) Where a crime victim or victim's representative as defined in 45 subparagraph (A) of this paragraph or a family member of a crime victim 46 or interested party as defined in section 440.50 of the criminal proce- 47 dure law, or other person submits to the parole board a written state- 48 ment concerning the release of an incarcerated individual, the parole 49 board shall keep that individual's name and address confidential. 50 § 3. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed- 51 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.
