Bill Text: NY A06667 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Authorizes imposition of life imprisonment without parole sentence for persistent violent felony offenders upon conviction of a violent felony offense when such person has previously been subjected to two or more predicate violent felony convictions.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 9-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - referred to codes [A06667 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A06667-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          6667
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                     March 14, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced by M. of A. BRABENEC -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Codes
        AN  ACT  to amend the penal law, in relation to sentencing of persistent
          violent felony offenders; and to repeal subdivision 3 of section 70.08
          of such law relating to minimum periods of imprisonment for persistent
          violent felony offenders
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. Subdivision 5 of section 70.00 of the penal law, as amended
     2  by  section  40-a  of  part  WWW  of  chapter 59 of the laws of 2017, is
     3  amended 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  parole  or  conditional
     7  release.  For  purposes of commitment and custody, other than parole and
     8  conditional release, such sentence shall be deemed to be  an  indetermi-
     9  nate  sentence.  A defendant may be sentenced to life imprisonment with-
    10  out parole, in accordance with the procedures provided by law for impos-
    11  ing such a sentence, either: (a) upon conviction for the crime of murder
    12  in the first degree as defined in section 125.27 of this chapter [and in
    13  accordance with the procedures provided by law for imposing  a  sentence
    14  for  such  crime]; or (b) upon conviction of a violent felony offense as
    15  defined in subdivision one of section 70.02 of this  article  when  such
    16  defendant has previously been subjected to two or more predicate violent
    17  felony  convictions  as  defined  in paragraph (b) of subdivision one of
    18  section 70.04 of this article.  A defendant who was  eighteen  years  of
    19  age  or  older  at  the  time  of  the  commission  of the crime must be
    20  sentenced to life imprisonment without parole upon  conviction  for  the
    21  crime  of  terrorism as defined in section 490.25 of this chapter, where
    22  the specified offense the defendant committed is a class A-I felony; the
    23  crime of criminal possession of a chemical weapon or  biological  weapon
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03951-01-9
        A. 6667                             2
     1  in the first degree as defined in section 490.45 of this chapter; or the
     2  crime  of  criminal use of a chemical weapon or biological weapon in the
     3  first degree as defined in section 490.55  of  this  chapter;  provided,
     4  however,  that  nothing  in this subdivision shall preclude or prevent a
     5  sentence of death when the defendant is also convicted of the  crime  of
     6  murder in the first degree as defined in section 125.27 of this chapter,
     7  or  is also convicted of a violent felony offense as defined in subdivi-
     8  sion one of section 70.02 of this article when such defendant has previ-
     9  ously been subjected to two or more predicate violent felony convictions
    10  as defined in paragraph (b) of subdivision one of section 70.04 of  this
    11  article.    A defendant who was seventeen years of age or younger at the
    12  time of the commission of the crime may be sentenced, in accordance with
    13  law, to the applicable indeterminate sentence with  a  maximum  term  of
    14  life  imprisonment.  A  defendant must be sentenced to life imprisonment
    15  without parole upon conviction for the crime of  murder  in  the  second
    16  degree  as defined in subdivision five of section 125.25 of this chapter
    17  or for the crime of aggravated murder as defined in subdivision  one  of
    18  section  125.26  of  this  chapter. A defendant may be sentenced to life
    19  imprisonment without parole upon conviction for the crime of  aggravated
    20  murder as defined in subdivision two of section 125.26 of this chapter.
    21    §  2.  Subdivision  2  of  section 70.08 of the penal law, as added by
    22  chapter 481 of the laws of 1978, is amended to read as follows:
    23    2. Authorized sentence. When the court  has  found,  pursuant  to  the
    24  provisions  of the criminal procedure law, that a person is a persistent
    25  violent felony offender the court must impose [an indeterminate sentence
    26  of imprisonment, the maximum term of which shall be  life  imprisonment.
    27  The  minimum  period  of  imprisonment  under  such  sentence must be in
    28  accordance with subdivision three of this section] a  sentence  of  life
    29  imprisonment without parole pursuant to section 70.00 of this article.
    30    § 3. Subdivision 3 of section 70.08 of the penal law is REPEALED.
    31    §  4.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
    32  have become a law.