Bill Text: NY A00854 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires that all felony offenders shall be eligible for parole after serving no more than twenty-five years of their sentence; eliminates the possibility of serving consecutive terms of imprisonment which exceed a twenty-five year sentence.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to codes [A00854 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-A00854-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 854 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 11, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. CARROLL, EPSTEIN, SIMON, ANDERSON, JACKSON, BURGOS -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes AN ACT to amend the penal law, the correction law and the criminal procedure law, in relation to parole eligibility for felony offenders; and to repeal subdivision 2-a of section 70.20 of the penal law relat- ing thereto The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 60.06 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 482 2 of the laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows: 3 § 60.06 Authorized disposition; murder in the first degree offenders; 4 aggravated murder offenders; certain murder in the second 5 degree offenders; certain terrorism offenders; criminal 6 possession of a chemical weapon or biological weapon offen- 7 ders; criminal use of a chemical weapon or biological weapon 8 offenders. 9 When a defendant is convicted of murder in the first degree as defined 10 in section 125.27 of this chapter, the court shall, in accordance with 11 the provisions of section 400.27 of the criminal procedure law, sentence 12 the defendant to death, to life imprisonment [without parole in accord-13ance with subdivision five of section 70.00 of this title,] with eligi- 14 bility for parole after twenty-five years or to a term of imprisonment 15 for a class A-I felony other than a sentence of life imprisonment [with-16out parole] with eligibility for parole after twenty-five years, in 17 accordance with subdivisions one through three of section 70.00 of this 18 title. When a person is convicted of murder in the second degree as 19 defined in subdivision five of section 125.25 of this chapter or of the 20 crime of aggravated murder as defined in subdivision one of section 21 125.26 of this chapter, the court shall sentence the defendant to life 22 imprisonment [without parole in accordance with subdivision five of23section 70.00 of this title] with eligibility for parole after twenty- EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD03128-01-3A. 854 2 1 five years. When a defendant is convicted of the crime of terrorism as 2 defined in section 490.25 of this chapter, and the specified offense the 3 defendant committed is a class A-I felony offense, or when a defendant 4 is convicted of the crime of criminal possession of a chemical weapon or 5 biological weapon in the first degree as defined in section 490.45 of 6 this chapter, or when a defendant is convicted of the crime of criminal 7 use of a chemical weapon or biological weapon in the first degree as 8 defined in section 490.55 of this chapter, the court shall sentence the 9 defendant to life imprisonment [without parole in accordance with subdi-10vision five of section 70.00 of this title] with eligibility for parole 11 after twenty-five years; provided, however, that nothing in this section 12 shall preclude or prevent a sentence of death when the defendant is also 13 convicted of murder in the first degree as defined in section 125.27 of 14 this chapter. When a defendant is convicted of aggravated murder as 15 defined in subdivision two of section 125.26 of this chapter, the court 16 shall sentence the defendant to life imprisonment [without parole] with 17 eligibility for parole after twenty-five years or to a term of imprison- 18 ment for a class A-I felony other than a sentence of life imprisonment 19 [without parole, in accordance with subdivisions one through three of20section 70.00 of this title] with eligibility for parole after twenty- 21 five years. 22 § 2. Subparagraph (i) of paragraph (a) of subdivision 3 and subdivi- 23 sion 5 of section 70.00 of the penal law, subparagraph (i) of paragraph 24 (a) of subdivision 3 as amended by chapter 107 of the laws of 2006 and 25 subdivision 5 as amended by section 40-a of part WWW of chapter 59 of 26 the laws of 2017, are amended to read as follows: 27 (i) For a class A-I felony, such minimum period shall not be less than 28 fifteen years nor more than twenty-five years; provided, however, that 29 (A) where a sentence, other than a sentence of death or life imprison- 30 ment [without parole] with eligibility for parole after twenty-five 31 years, is imposed upon a defendant convicted of murder in the first 32 degree as defined in section 125.27 of this chapter such minimum period 33 shall be not less than twenty years nor more than twenty-five years, 34 and, (B) where a sentence is imposed upon a defendant convicted of 35 murder in the second degree as defined in subdivision five of section 36 125.25 of this chapter or convicted of aggravated murder as defined in 37 section 125.26 of this chapter, the sentence shall be life imprisonment 38 [without parole] with eligibility for parole after twenty-five years, 39 and, (C) where a sentence is imposed upon a defendant convicted of 40 attempted murder in the first degree as defined in article one hundred 41 ten of this chapter and subparagraph (i), (ii) or (iii) of paragraph (a) 42 of subdivision one and paragraph (b) of subdivision one of section 43 125.27 of this chapter or attempted aggravated murder as defined in 44 article one hundred ten of this chapter and section 125.26 of this chap- 45 ter such minimum period shall be not less than twenty years nor more 46 than forty years. 47 [5. Life imprisonment without parole. Notwithstanding any other48provision of law, a defendant sentenced to life imprisonment without49parole shall not be or become eligible for parole or conditional50release. For purposes of commitment and custody, other than parole and51conditional release, such sentence shall be deemed to be an indetermi-52nate sentence. A defendant may be sentenced to life imprisonment without53parole upon conviction for the crime of murder in the first degree as54defined in section 125.27 of this chapter and in accordance with the55procedures provided by law for imposing a sentence for such crime. A56defendant who was eighteen years of age or older at the time of theA. 854 3 1commission of the crime must be sentenced to life imprisonment without2parole upon conviction for the crime of terrorism as defined in section3490.25 of this chapter, where the specified offense the defendant4committed is a class A-I felony; the crime of criminal possession of a5chemical weapon or biological weapon in the first degree as defined in6section 490.45 of this chapter; or the crime of criminal use of a chemi-7cal weapon or biological weapon in the first degree as defined in8section 490.55 of this chapter; provided, however, that nothing in this9subdivision shall preclude or prevent a sentence of death when the10defendant is also convicted of the crime of murder in the first degree11as defined in section 125.27 of this chapter. A defendant who was seven-12teen years of age or younger at the time of the commission of the crime13may be sentenced, in accordance with law, to the applicable indetermi-14nate sentence with a maximum term of life imprisonment. A defendant must15be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole upon conviction for the16crime of murder in the second degree as defined in subdivision five of17section 125.25 of this chapter or for the crime of aggravated murder as18defined in subdivision one of section 125.26 of this chapter. A defend-19ant may be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole upon conviction20for the crime of aggravated murder as defined in subdivision two of21section 125.26 of this chapter.] 22 § 3. Subdivision 3 of section 70.00 of the penal law is amended by 23 adding a new paragraph (c) to read as follows: 24 (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of the law to the contrary, 25 for any felony, regardless of sentence, all defendants sentenced shall 26 become eligible for parole after serving no more than twenty-five years 27 of their sentence; and further, notwithstanding any other provision of 28 the law to the contrary, no defendant shall be sentenced to consecutive 29 terms of imprisonment which exceed a twenty-five year sentence. 30 § 4. Subdivision 3 of section 70.02 of the penal law is amended by 31 adding a new paragraph (e) to read as follows: 32 (e) Notwithstanding any other provision of the law to the contrary, 33 for any felony defined in this section, regardless of sentence, all 34 defendants sentenced shall become eligible for parole after serving no 35 more than twenty-five years of their sentence; and further, notwith- 36 standing any other provision of the law to the contrary, no defendant 37 shall be sentenced to consecutive terms of imprisonment which exceed a 38 twenty-five year sentence. 39 § 5. Section 70.04 of the penal law is amended by adding a new subdi- 40 vision 4 to read as follows: 41 4. Parole eligibility and consecutive terms of imprisonment. Notwith- 42 standing any other provision of the law to the contrary, for any felony 43 defined in this section, regardless of sentence, all defendants 44 sentenced shall become eligible for parole after serving no more than 45 twenty-five years of their sentence; and further, notwithstanding any 46 other provision of the law to the contrary, no defendant shall be 47 sentenced to consecutive terms of imprisonment which exceed a twenty- 48 five year sentence. 49 § 6. Section 70.06 of the penal law is amended by adding a new subdi- 50 vision 8 to read as follows: 51 8. Parole eligibility and consecutive terms of imprisonment. Notwith- 52 standing any other provision of the law to the contrary, for any felony 53 defined in this section, regardless of sentence, all defendants 54 sentenced shall become eligible for parole after serving no more than 55 twenty-five years of their sentence; and further, notwithstanding any 56 other provision of the law to the contrary, no defendant shall beA. 854 4 1 sentenced to consecutive terms of imprisonment which exceed a twenty- 2 five year sentence. 3 § 7. Section 70.07 of the penal law is amended by adding a new subdi- 4 vision 6 to read as follows: 5 6. Notwithstanding any other provision of the law to the contrary, 6 for any felony defined in this section, regardless of sentence, all 7 defendants sentenced shall become eligible for parole after serving no 8 more than twenty-five years of their sentence; and further, notwith- 9 standing any other provision of the law to the contrary, no defendant 10 shall be sentenced to consecutive terms of imprisonment which exceed a 11 twenty-five year sentence. 12 § 8. Section 70.08 of the penal law is amended by adding a new subdi- 13 vision 4 to read as follows: 14 4. Parole eligibility and consecutive terms of imprisonment. Notwith- 15 standing any other provision of the law to the contrary, for any felony 16 defined in this section, regardless of sentence, all defendants 17 sentenced shall become eligible for parole after serving no more than 18 twenty-five years of their sentence; and further, notwithstanding any 19 other provision of the law to the contrary, no defendant shall be 20 sentenced to consecutive terms of imprisonment which exceed a twenty- 21 five year sentence. 22 § 9. Section 70.10 of the penal law is amended by adding a new subdi- 23 vision 3 to read as follows: 24 3. Parole eligibility and consecutive terms of imprisonment. Notwith- 25 standing any other provision of the law to the contrary, for any felony 26 defined in this section, regardless of sentence, all defendants 27 sentenced shall become eligible for parole after serving no more than 28 twenty-five years of their sentence; and further, notwithstanding any 29 other provision of the law to the contrary, no defendant shall be 30 sentenced to consecutive terms of imprisonment which exceed a twenty- 31 five year sentence. 32 § 10. Subdivision 2-a of section 70.20 of the penal law is REPEALED. 33 § 11. Section 70.71 of the penal law is amended by adding a new 34 subdivision 6 to read as follows: 35 6. Parole eligibility and consecutive terms of imprisonment. Notwith- 36 standing any other provision of the law to the contrary, for any felony 37 defined in this section, regardless of sentence, all defendants 38 sentenced shall become eligible for parole after serving no more than 39 twenty-five years of their sentence; and further, notwithstanding any 40 other provision of the law to the contrary, no defendant shall be 41 sentenced to consecutive terms of imprisonment which exceed a twenty- 42 five year sentence. 43 § 12. Subdivision 3 of section 70.80 of the penal law, as added by 44 chapter 7 of the laws of 2007, is amended and a new subdivision 10 is 45 added to read as follows: 46 3. Except as provided by subdivision four, five, six, seven or eight 47 of this section, or when a defendant is being sentenced for a conviction 48 of the class A-II felonies of predatory sexual assault and predatory 49 sexual assault against a child as defined in sections 130.95 and 130.96 50 of this chapter, or for any class A-I sexually motivated felony for 51 which a life sentence [or a life without parole sentence] with eligibil- 52 ity for parole after twenty-five years must be imposed, a sentence 53 imposed upon a defendant convicted of a felony sex offense shall be a 54 determinate sentence. The determinate sentence shall be imposed by the 55 court in whole or half years, and shall include as a part thereof a 56 period of post-release supervision in accordance with subdivision two-aA. 854 5 1 of section 70.45 of this article. Persons eligible for sentencing under 2 section 70.07 of this article governing second child sexual assault 3 felonies shall be sentenced under such section and paragraph (j) of 4 subdivision two-a of section 70.45 of this article. 5 10. Notwithstanding any other provision of the law to the contrary, 6 for any felony defined in this section, regardless of sentence, all 7 defendants sentenced shall become eligible for parole after serving no 8 more than twenty-five years of their sentence; and further, notwith- 9 standing any other provision of the law to the contrary, no defendant 10 shall be sentenced to consecutive terms of imprisonment which exceed a 11 twenty-five year sentence. 12 § 13. Paragraph (d) of subdivision 2 of section 490.25 of the penal 13 law, as added by chapter 300 of the laws of 2001, is amended to read as 14 follows: 15 (d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, when a person is 16 convicted of a crime of terrorism pursuant to this section, and the 17 specified offense is a class A-I felony offense, the sentence upon 18 conviction of such offense shall be life imprisonment [without parole] 19 with eligibility for parole after twenty-five years; provided, however, 20 that nothing herein shall preclude or prevent a sentence of death when 21 the specified offense is murder in the first degree as defined in 22 section 125.27 of this chapter. 23 § 14. Subdivision 2 of section 136 of the correction law, as amended 24 by chapter 322 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows: 25 2. All incarcerated individuals admitted to the department serving a 26 determinate term of imprisonment, or an indeterminate sentence of impri- 27 sonment other than a sentence of life imprisonment [without parole,] 28 with eligibility for parole after twenty-five years who have been evalu- 29 ated upon admission pursuant to subdivision one of section one hundred 30 thirty-seven of this article and are determined to be capable of 31 successfully completing the academic course work required for the test 32 assessing secondary completion, shall be provided with the opportunity 33 to complete such course work at least two months prior to the date on 34 which such incarcerated individual may be paroled, conditionally 35 released, released to post-release supervision pursuant to section 70.40 36 of the penal law, or presumptively released, pursuant to section eight 37 hundred three of this chapter. Upon admission to the department, such 38 incarcerated individuals will be provided with written notice that the 39 test assessing secondary completion programs are available for all 40 incarcerated individuals who so apply. 41 § 15. Paragraph (e) of subdivision 5 of section 220.10 of the criminal 42 procedure law, as amended by chapter 1 of the laws of 1995, is amended 43 to read as follows: 44 (e) A defendant may not enter a plea of guilty to the crime of murder 45 in the first degree as defined in section 125.27 of the penal law; 46 provided, however, that a defendant may enter such a plea with both the 47 permission of the court and the consent of the people when the agreed 48 upon sentence is either life imprisonment [without parole] with eligi- 49 bility for parole after twenty-five years or a term of imprisonment for 50 the class A-I felony of murder in the first degree other than a sentence 51 of life imprisonment [without parole] with eligibility for parole after 52 twenty-five years. 53 § 16. Subparagraph (vii) of paragraph (b) of subdivision 3 of section 54 220.30 of the criminal procedure law, as amended by chapter 1 of the 55 laws of 1995, is amended to read as follows:A. 854 6 1 (vii) A defendant may not enter a plea of guilty to the crime of 2 murder in the first degree as defined in section 125.27 of the penal 3 law; provided, however, that a defendant may enter such a plea with both 4 the permission of the court and the consent of the people when the 5 agreed upon sentence is either life imprisonment [without parole] with 6 eligibility for parole after twenty-five years or a term of imprisonment 7 for the class A-I felony of murder in the first degree other than a 8 sentence of life imprisonment [without parole] with eligibility for 9 parole after twenty-five years. 10 § 17. Subdivision 1, paragraphs (b) and (e) of subdivision 11 and 11 paragraphs (b), (c) and (e) of subdivision 12 of section 400.27 of the 12 criminal procedure law, as added by chapter 1 of the laws of 1995, are 13 amended to read as follows: 14 1. Upon the conviction of a defendant for the offense of murder in the 15 first degree as defined by section 125.27 of the penal law, the court 16 shall promptly conduct a separate sentencing proceeding to determine 17 whether the defendant shall be sentenced to death or to life imprison- 18 ment [without parole pursuant to subdivision five of section 70.00 of19the penal law] with eligibility for parole after twenty-five years. 20 Nothing in this section shall be deemed to preclude the people at any 21 time from determining that the death penalty shall not be sought in a 22 particular case, in which case the separate sentencing proceeding shall 23 not be conducted and the court may sentence such defendant to life 24 imprisonment [without parole] with eligibility for parole after twenty- 25 five years or to a sentence of imprisonment for the class A-I felony of 26 murder in the first degree other than a sentence of life imprisonment 27 [without parole] with eligibility for parole after twenty-five years. 28 (b) If the jury directs imposition of either a sentence of death or 29 life imprisonment [without parole] with eligibility for parole after 30 twenty-five years, it shall specify on the record those mitigating and 31 aggravating factors considered and those mitigating factors established 32 by the defendant, if any. 33 (e) If the jury unanimously determines that a sentence of life impri- 34 sonment [without parole] with eligibility for parole after twenty-five 35 years should be imposed the court must thereupon impose a sentence of 36 life imprisonment [without parole] with eligibility for parole after 37 twenty-five years. 38 (b) In the event the defendant is sentenced pursuant to this section 39 to life imprisonment [without parole] with eligibility for parole after 40 twenty-five years or to a term of imprisonment for the class A-I felony 41 of murder in the first degree other than a sentence of life imprisonment 42 [without parole] with eligibility for parole after twenty-five years, 43 the court shall not render a finding with respect to whether the defend- 44 ant is mentally retarded. 45 (c) In the event the defendant is sentenced pursuant to this section 46 to death, the court shall thereupon render a finding with respect to 47 whether the defendant is mentally retarded. If the court finds the 48 defendant is mentally retarded, the court shall set aside the sentence 49 of death and sentence the defendant either to life imprisonment [without50parole] with eligibility for parole after twenty-five years or to a term 51 of imprisonment for the class A-I felony of murder in the first degree 52 other than a sentence of life imprisonment [without parole] with eligi- 53 bility for parole after twenty-five years. If the court finds the 54 defendant is not mentally retarded, then such sentence of death shall 55 not be set aside pursuant to this subdivision.A. 854 7 1 (e) The foregoing provisions of this subdivision notwithstanding, at a 2 reasonable time prior to the commencement of trial the defendant may, 3 upon a written motion alleging reasonable cause to believe the defendant 4 is mentally retarded, apply for an order directing that a mental retar- 5 dation hearing be conducted prior to trial. If, upon review of the 6 defendant's motion and any response thereto, the court finds reasonable 7 cause to believe the defendant is mentally retarded, it shall promptly 8 conduct a hearing without a jury to determine whether the defendant is 9 mentally retarded. In the event the court finds after the hearing that 10 the defendant is not mentally retarded, the court must, prior to 11 commencement of trial, enter an order so stating, but nothing in this 12 paragraph shall preclude a defendant from presenting mitigating evidence 13 of mental retardation at a separate sentencing proceeding. In the event 14 the court finds after the hearing that the defendant, based upon a 15 preponderance of the evidence, is mentally retarded, the court must, 16 prior to commencement of trial, enter an order so stating. Unless the 17 order is reversed on an appeal by the people or unless the provisions of 18 paragraph (d) of this subdivision apply, a separate sentencing proceed- 19 ing under this section shall not be conducted if the defendant is there- 20 after convicted of murder in the first degree. In the event a separate 21 sentencing proceeding is not conducted, the court, upon conviction of a 22 defendant for the crime of murder in the first degree, shall sentence 23 the defendant to life imprisonment [without parole] with eligibility for 24 parole after twenty-five years or to a sentence of imprisonment for the 25 class A-I felony of murder in the first degree other than a sentence of 26 life imprisonment [without parole] with eligibility for parole after 27 twenty-five years. Whenever a mental retardation hearing is held and a 28 finding is rendered pursuant to this paragraph, the court may not 29 conduct a hearing pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subdivision. For 30 purposes of this subdivision and paragraph (b) of subdivision nine of 31 this section, "mental retardation" means significantly subaverage gener- 32 al intellectual functioning existing concurrently with deficits in adap- 33 tive behavior which were manifested before the age of eighteen. 34 § 18. Subdivision 1 of section 440.20 of the criminal procedure law, 35 as amended by chapter 1 of the laws of 1995, is amended to read as 36 follows: 37 1. At any time after the entry of a judgment, the court in which the 38 judgment was entered may, upon motion of the defendant, set aside the 39 sentence upon the ground that it was unauthorized, illegally imposed or 40 otherwise invalid as a matter of law. Where the judgment includes a 41 sentence of death, the court may also set aside the sentence upon any of 42 the grounds set forth in paragraph (b), (c), (f), (g) or (h) of subdivi- 43 sion one of section 440.10 as applied to a separate sentencing proceed- 44 ing under section 400.27, provided, however, that to the extent the 45 ground or grounds asserted include one or more of the aforesaid para- 46 graphs of subdivision one of section 440.10, the court must also apply 47 subdivisions two and three of section 440.10, other than paragraph (d) 48 of subdivision two of such section, in determining the motion. In the 49 event the court enters an order granting a motion to set aside a 50 sentence of death under this section, the court must either direct a new 51 sentencing proceeding in accordance with section 400.27 or, to the 52 extent that the defendant cannot be resentenced to death consistent with 53 the laws of this state or the constitution of this state or of the 54 United States, resentence the defendant to life imprisonment [without55parole] with eligibility for parole after twenty-five years or to a 56 sentence of imprisonment for the class A-I felony of murder in the firstA. 854 8 1 degree other than a sentence of life imprisonment [without parole] with 2 eligibility for parole after twenty-five years. Upon granting the 3 motion upon any of the grounds set forth in the aforesaid paragraphs of 4 subdivision one of section 440.10 and setting aside the sentence, the 5 court must afford the people a reasonable period of time, which shall 6 not be less than ten days, to determine whether to take an appeal from 7 the order setting aside the sentence of death. The taking of an appeal 8 by the people stays the effectiveness of that portion of the court's 9 order that directs a new sentencing proceeding. 10 § 19. Paragraphs (b) and (c) of subdivision 5 of section 470.30 of the 11 criminal procedure law, as added by chapter 1 of the laws of 1995, are 12 amended to read as follows: 13 (b) set the sentence aside and remand the case for resentencing pursu- 14 ant to the procedures set forth in section 400.27 for a determination as 15 to whether the defendant shall be sentenced to death, life imprisonment 16 [without parole] with eligibility for parole after twenty-five years or 17 to a term of imprisonment for the class A-I felony of murder in the 18 first degree other than a sentence of life imprisonment [without parole] 19 with eligibility for parole after twenty-five years; or 20 (c) set the sentence aside and remand the case for resentencing by the 21 court for a determination as to whether the defendant shall be sentenced 22 to life imprisonment [without parole] with eligibility for parole after 23 twenty-five years or to a term of imprisonment for the class A-I felony 24 of murder in the first degree other than a sentence of life imprisonment 25 [without parole] with eligibility for parole after twenty-five years. 26 § 20. The opening paragraph of subdivision 1 of section 70.25 of the 27 penal law, as amended by chapter 372 of the laws of 1981, is amended to 28 read as follows: 29 Except as provided in subdivisions two, two-a and five of this 30 section, when multiple sentences of imprisonment are imposed on a person 31 at the same time, or when a person who is subject to any undischarged 32 term of imprisonment imposed at a previous time by a court of this state 33 is sentenced to an additional term of imprisonment, the sentence or 34 sentences imposed by the court shall run either concurrently or consec- 35 utively with respect to each other and the undischarged term or terms in 36 such manner as the court directs at the time of sentence. Notwithstand- 37 ing any other provision of the law to the contrary, no defendant shall 38 be sentenced to serve consecutive terms of imprisonment which exceed a 39 twenty-five year sentence. If the court does not specify the manner in 40 which a sentence imposed by it is to run, the sentence shall run as 41 follows: 42 § 21. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 43 have become a law.
