Bill Text: NY A06719 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Defines the felonies of victimizing the elderly or physically disabled in the 3rd degree, 2nd degree and 1st degree; provides that a sentence of imprisonment must be imposed upon conviction of certain offenses against the elderly or physically disabled; provides that a juvenile offender shall include a person 14 or 15 years old who is criminally responsible for victimizing the elderly or physically disabled; provides certain plea restrictions and sentencing structure for persons convicted of such crimes.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - referred to codes [A06719 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-A06719-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6719 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY March 26, 2021 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. STERN -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes AN ACT to amend the penal law and the criminal procedure law, in relation to mandatory imprisonment and plea restrictions for offenses victimizing the elderly and physically disabled The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. It is hereby found and declared that elderly and physically 2 disabled people continue to be singled out as victims of crime. It is 3 also found that the physical harm and emotional trauma suffered by 4 elderly and physically disabled crime victims has a devastating effect 5 on the lives of those victims. 6 The elderly or physically disabled victim has a decreased physical 7 capability to resist an attacker and thus becomes an inviting target of 8 crime. Moreover, the aftereffects of crime on the elderly and the phys- 9 ically handicapped affect them more deeply than any statistics would 10 indicate. The emotional trauma and possible serious physical damage 11 resulting from a face to face crime may cause a permanent downgrading in 12 the elderly or physically disabled victim's lifestyle. Such victims 13 often impose "house-arrest" on themselves, afraid to shop, to visit 14 friends, to go to the doctor, to live, unless behind locked doors. Even 15 those elderly or physically disabled who are not direct victims of crime 16 suffer indirectly, because they, having learned of the terrible tragedy 17 suffered by other elderly and physically disabled and fearful for their 18 own individual safety, barricade themselves within their homes. The 19 older or physically disabled crime victim is thus twice victimized--by 20 the crime and by its aftermath. 21 Criminologists, sociologists, psychologists, and the police all recog- 22 nize and acknowledge these facts, but the law does not. It has been 23 ineffective in deterring crimes against the elderly and the physically 24 disabled, particularly those involving violence or the threat of EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD10579-01-1A. 6719 2 1 violence. Similarly, special projects on crime prevention and improved 2 techniques of communications for the elderly to the police do not halt 3 or reduce such crime. For these reasons, offenses committed against the 4 elderly or the physically disabled must be treated as unique, and legis- 5 lation must be enacted to provide a meaningful deterrent for those 6 offenders who now victimize the elderly and the physically disabled. 7 § 2. Subdivision 18 of section 10.00 of the penal law, as amended by 8 chapter 7 of the laws of 2007, is amended to read as follows: 9 18. "Juvenile offender" means (1) a person thirteen years old who is 10 criminally responsible for acts constituting murder in the second degree 11 as defined in subdivisions one and two of section 125.25 of this chapter 12 or such conduct as a sexually motivated felony, where authorized pursu- 13 ant to section 130.91 of [the penal law] this chapter; and 14 (2) a person fourteen or fifteen years old who is criminally responsi- 15 ble for acts constituting the crimes defined in subdivisions one and two 16 of section 125.25 (murder in the second degree) and in subdivision three 17 of such section provided that the underlying crime for the murder charge 18 is one for which such person is criminally responsible; section 135.25 19 (kidnapping in the first degree); 150.20 (arson in the first degree); 20 subdivisions one and two of section 120.10 (assault in the first 21 degree); 125.20 (manslaughter in the first degree); subdivisions one and 22 two of section 130.35 (rape in the first degree); subdivisions one and 23 two of section 130.50 (criminal sexual act in the first degree); 130.70 24 (aggravated sexual abuse in the first degree); 140.30 (burglary in the 25 first degree); subdivision one of section 140.25 (burglary in the second 26 degree); 150.15 (arson in the second degree); 160.15 (robbery in the 27 first degree); subdivision two of section 160.10 (robbery in the second 28 degree) of this chapter; or section 265.03 of this chapter, where such 29 machine gun or such firearm is possessed on school grounds, as that 30 phrase is defined in subdivision fourteen of section 220.00 of this 31 chapter; or defined in this chapter as an attempt to commit murder in 32 the second degree or kidnapping in the first degree; section 280.00 33 (victimizing the elderly or the physically disabled in the third 34 degree); section 280.05 (victimizing the elderly or the physically disa- 35 bled in the second degree); or section 280.10 (victimizing the elderly 36 or the physically disabled in the first degree), or such conduct as a 37 sexually motivated felony, where authorized pursuant to section 130.91 38 of [the penal law] this chapter. 39 § 3. Section 10.00 of the penal law is amended by adding three new 40 subdivisions 22, 23 and 24 to read as follows: 41 22. "Elderly person" means a human being sixty-two years old or more. 42 23. "Victim", as that term is used in article two hundred eighty of 43 this chapter, means, in a case of: 44 (a) assault, the person injured or intended to be injured; 45 (b) manslaughter or murder, the person killed or intended to be 46 killed or injured; 47 (c) rape or criminal sexual act, the person with whom the defendant 48 has the sexual intercourse or deviate sexual intercourse; 49 (d) kidnapping, the person abducted; 50 (e) burglary or robbery, the person injured, or against whom a 51 dangerous instrument is or is threatened to be used, or to whom the 52 weapon is displayed; 53 (f) arson, the person present in the building at the time; or 54 (g) larceny, the person in whom fear is instilled. 55 24. "Physically disabled person" means a human being:A. 6719 3 1 (a) having an impairment requiring the use of leg braces, crutches or 2 artificial support, or 3 (b) having an impairment requiring confinement to a wheelchair, or 4 (c) having an impairment caused by amputation of a limb, or 5 (d) having total or partial impairment of sight necessitating the use 6 of a guide dog or other guiding device. 7 § 4. The penal law is amended by adding a new article 280 to read as 8 follows: 9 ARTICLE 280 10 OFFENSES AGAINST THE ELDERLY OR PHYSICALLY DISABLED 11 Section 280.00 Victimizing the elderly or the physically disabled in the 12 third degree. 13 280.05 Victimizing the elderly or the physically disabled in the 14 second degree. 15 280.10 Victimizing the elderly or the physically disabled in the 16 first degree. 17 § 280.00 Victimizing the elderly or the physically disabled in the third 18 degree. 19 A person is guilty of victimizing the elderly or the physically disa- 20 bled in the third degree when he or she: 21 1. Commits any of the following felonies: 22 Attempt to commit victimizing the elderly or the physically disabled 23 in the second degree as defined in section 280.05, or assault in the 24 second degree as defined in section 120.05; and 25 2. The victim of such crime is an elderly person or a physically disa- 26 bled person. 27 Victimizing the elderly or the physically disabled in the third degree 28 is a class D felony. 29 § 280.05 Victimizing the elderly or the physically disabled in the 30 second degree. 31 A person is guilty of victimizing the elderly or the physically disa- 32 bled in the second degree when he or she: 33 1. Commits any of the following felonies: 34 Attempt to commit victimizing the elderly or the physically disabled 35 in the first degree as defined in section 280.10, assault in the first 36 degree as defined in section 120.10, burglary in the second degree as 37 defined in paragraph (b), (c), or (d) of subdivision one of section 38 140.25, grand larceny in the second degree as defined in paragraph (a) 39 of subdivision two of section 155.40, or robbery in the second degree as 40 defined in subdivision two of section 160.10; and 41 2. The victim of such crime is an elderly person or a physically disa- 42 bled person. 43 Victimizing the elderly or the physically disabled in the second 44 degree is a class C felony. 45 § 280.10 Victimizing the elderly or the physically disabled in the first 46 degree. 47 A person is guilty of victimizing the elderly or the physically disa- 48 bled in the first degree when he or she: 49 1. Commits any of the following felonies: 50 Attempt to commit a class A-I felony other than an offense defined in 51 article two hundred twenty, manslaughter in the first degree as defined 52 in section 125.20, rape in the first degree as defined in section 53 130.35, criminal sexual act in the first degree as defined in section 54 130.50, kidnapping in the second degree as defined in section 135.20, 55 burglary in the first degree as defined in subdivision two, three orA. 6719 4 1 four of section 140.30, or robbery in the first degree as defined in 2 subdivision one, three or four of section 160.15; and 3 2. The victim of such crime is an elderly person or a physically disa- 4 bled person. 5 Victimizing the elderly or the physically disabled in the first degree 6 is a class B felony. 7 § 5. Section 60.05 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 410 of the 8 laws of 1979, the section heading and subdivisions 2, 3 and 4 as amended 9 by chapter 738 of the laws of 2004, subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 10 7 of the laws of 2007, subdivision 5 as amended by chapter 405 of the 11 laws of 2010, subdivision 8 as added by section 1 of part KK of chapter 12 55 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows: 13 § 60.05 Authorized dispositions; other class A, B, certain C and D felo- 14 nies and multiple felony offenders. 15 1. Applicability. Except as provided in section 60.04 of this article 16 governing the authorized dispositions applicable to felony offenses 17 defined in article two hundred twenty or two hundred twenty-one of this 18 chapter or in section 60.13 of this article governing the authorized 19 dispositions applicable to felony sex offenses defined in paragraph (a) 20 of subdivision one of section 70.80 of this title, this section shall 21 govern the dispositions authorized when a person is to be sentenced upon 22 a conviction of a class A felony, a class B felony or a class C, class D 23 or class E felony specified herein, or when a person is to be sentenced 24 upon a conviction of a felony as a multiple felony offender. 25 2. Class A felony. Except as provided in subdivision seven of this 26 section and subdivisions three and four of section 70.06 of this [chap-27ter] title, every person convicted of a class A felony must be sentenced 28 to imprisonment in accordance with section 70.00 of this title, unless 29 such person is convicted of murder in the first degree and is sentenced 30 in accordance with section 60.06 of this article. 31 3. Class B felony. Except as provided in [subdivision] subdivisions 32 six and seven of this section, every person convicted of a class B 33 violent felony offense as defined in subdivision one of section 70.02 of 34 this title, must be sentenced to imprisonment in accordance with such 35 section 70.02; and, except as provided in subdivision six of this 36 section, every person convicted of any other class B felony must be 37 sentenced to imprisonment in accordance with section 70.00 of this 38 title. 39 4. Certain class C felonies. Except as provided in [subdivision] 40 subdivisions six and seven of this section, every person convicted of a 41 class C violent felony offense as defined in subdivision one of section 42 70.02 of this title, must be sentenced to imprisonment in accordance 43 with section 70.02 of this title; and, except as provided in subdivision 44 six of this section, every person convicted of the class C felonies of: 45 attempt to commit any of the class B felonies of bribery in the first 46 degree as defined in section 200.04, bribe receiving in the first degree 47 as defined in section 200.12, conspiracy in the second degree as defined 48 in section 105.15 and criminal mischief in the first degree as defined 49 in section 145.12; criminal usury in the first degree as defined in 50 section 190.42, rewarding official misconduct in the first degree as 51 defined in section 200.22, receiving reward for official misconduct in 52 the first degree as defined in section 200.27, attempt to promote pros- 53 titution in the first degree as defined in section 230.32, promoting 54 prostitution in the second degree as defined in section 230.30, arson in 55 the third degree as defined in section 150.10 of this chapter, must beA. 6719 5 1 sentenced to imprisonment in accordance with section 70.00 of this 2 title. 3 5. Certain class D felonies. Except as provided in subdivision six of 4 this section, every person convicted of the class D felonies of assault 5 in the second degree as defined in section 120.05, strangulation in the 6 second degree as defined in section 121.12 or attempt to commit a class 7 C felony as defined in section 230.30 of this chapter, must be sentenced 8 in accordance with section 70.00 or 85.00 of this title. 9 6. Multiple felony offender. When the court imposes sentence upon a 10 second violent felony offender, as defined in section 70.04, or a second 11 felony offender, as defined in section 70.06, the court must impose a 12 sentence of imprisonment in accordance with section 70.04 or 70.06, as 13 the case may be, unless it imposes a sentence of imprisonment in accord- 14 ance with section 70.08 or 70.10. 15 7. Article two hundred eighty offenses. When the court imposes 16 sentence upon a person convicted of an offense enumerated in article two 17 hundred eighty, it must impose a sentence of imprisonment in accordance 18 with section 70.09, unless it imposes a sentence of imprisonment in 19 accordance with section 70.06 or 70.10. 20 8. Fines. Where the court imposes a sentence of imprisonment in 21 accordance with this section, the court also may impose a fine author- 22 ized by article eighty and in such case the sentence shall be both 23 imprisonment and a fine. 24 [8.] 9. Shock incarceration participation. (a) When the court imposes 25 a determinate sentence of imprisonment pursuant to subdivision three of 26 section 70.02 of this chapter or subdivision six of section 70.06 of 27 this chapter upon a person who stands convicted either of burglary in 28 the second degree as defined in subdivision two of section 140.25 of 29 this chapter or robbery in the second degree as defined in subdivision 30 one of section 160.10 of this chapter, or an attempt thereof, upon 31 motion of the defendant, the court may issue an order directing that the 32 department of corrections and community supervision enroll the defendant 33 in the shock incarceration program as defined in article twenty-six-A of 34 the correction law, provided that the defendant is an eligible inmate, 35 as described in subdivision one of section eight hundred sixty-five of 36 the correction law. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this 37 subdivision, any defendant to be enrolled in such program pursuant to 38 this subdivision shall be governed by the same rules and regulations 39 promulgated by the department of corrections and community supervision, 40 including without limitation those rules and regulations establishing 41 requirements for completion and such rules and regulations governing 42 discipline and removal from the program. 43 (b) Paragraph (b) of subdivision seven of section 60.04 of this arti- 44 cle shall apply in the event an inmate designated by court order for 45 enrollment in the shock incarceration program requires a degree of 46 medical care or mental health care that cannot be provided at a shock 47 incarceration facility. 48 § 6. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 70.09 to read as 49 follows: 50 § 70.09 Sentence of imprisonment for certain offenses against the elder- 51 ly or the physically disabled. 52 1. Except as provided in subdivision four every person, other than a 53 person sentenced as a second or persistent felony offender, who is 54 convicted of an offense against the elderly or the physically disabled 55 defined in article two hundred eighty of this chapter, must be sentencedA. 6719 6 1 to an indeterminate sentence of imprisonment in accordance with the 2 provisions of subdivisions two and three of this section. 3 2. The maximum term of such indeterminate sentence must be fixed as 4 follows: 5 (a) For the class B felony of victimizing the elderly or the phys- 6 ically disabled in the first degree, the term must be at least nine 7 years and must not exceed twenty-five years; 8 (b) For the class C felony of victimizing the elderly or the phys- 9 ically disabled in the second degree, the term must be at least six 10 years and must not exceed fifteen years; 11 (c) For the class D felony of victimizing the elderly or the phys- 12 ically disabled in the third degree, the term must be at least four 13 years and must not exceed seven years. 14 3. The minimum period of imprisonment for such indeterminate sentence 15 must be fixed by the court and must be specified in the sentence as 16 follows: 17 (a) For the class B felony of victimizing the elderly or the phys- 18 ically disabled in the first degree, the minimum period of imprisonment 19 shall not be less than three years nor more than one-third the maximum 20 term imposed by the court; 21 (b) For the class C felony of victimizing the elderly or the phys- 22 ically disabled in the second degree, the minimum period of imprisonment 23 shall be not less than two years nor more than one-third the maximum 24 term imposed by the court; 25 (c) For the class D felony of victimizing the elderly or the phys- 26 ically disabled in the third degree, the minimum period of imprisonment 27 shall be one-third the maximum term imposed by the court. 28 4. Alternative definite sentence for class D felony offense against 29 the elderly or the physically disabled. When a person, other than a 30 multiple felony offender, is sentenced for the class D felony of victim- 31 izing the elderly or the physically disabled in the third degree, and 32 the court, having regard to the nature and circumstances of the crime 33 and to the history and character of the defendant, is of the opinion 34 that it would be unduly harsh to impose an indeterminate sentence, the 35 court may impose a definite sentence of imprisonment and fix a term of 36 one year. 37 § 7. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 5 of section 220.10 of the criminal 38 procedure law, as amended by chapter 410 of the laws of 1979, is amended 39 to read as follows: 40 (c) Where the indictment charges a felony, other than a class A felo- 41 ny or class B felony defined in article two hundred twenty of the penal 42 law or class B or class C violent felony offense as defined in subdivi- 43 sion one of section 70.02 of the penal law, or the class C felony of 44 victimizing the elderly or the physically disabled in the second degree 45 as defined in section 280.05 of the penal law, and it appears that the 46 defendant has previously been subjected to a predicate felony conviction 47 as defined in [penal law] section 70.06 of the penal law then any plea 48 of guilty entered pursuant to subdivision three or four must be or must 49 include at least a plea of guilty of a felony. 50 § 8. Subparagraph (vi) of paragraph (b) of subdivision 3 of section 51 220.30 of the criminal procedure law, as amended by chapter 481 of the 52 laws of 1978 and as renumbered by chapter 233 of the laws of 1980, is 53 amended to read as follows: 54 (vi) A plea of guilty, whether to the entire indictment or to part of 55 the indictment for any crime other than a felony, may not be accepted on 56 the condition that it constitutes a complete disposition of one or moreA. 6719 7 1 other indictments against the defendant wherein is charged a class B 2 felony other than a class B violent felony offense as defined in subdi- 3 vision one of section 70.02 of the penal law, or the class C felony of 4 victimizing the elderly or the physically disabled in the second degree 5 as defined in section 280.05 of the penal law. 6 § 9. Subdivision 2 of section 720.10 of the criminal procedure law, as 7 amended by chapter 416 of the laws of 1986, paragraph (a) as amended by 8 chapter 316 of the laws of 2006, is amended to read as follows: 9 2. "Eligible youth" means a youth who is eligible to be found a 10 youthful offender. Every youth is so eligible unless: 11 (a) the conviction to be replaced by a youthful offender finding is 12 for (i) a class A-I or class A-II felony, or (ii) an armed felony as 13 defined in subdivision forty-one of section 1.20, except as provided in 14 subdivision three of this section, or (iii) rape in the first degree, 15 criminal sexual act in the first degree, or aggravated sexual abuse, 16 except as provided in subdivision three of this section, or 17 (b) such youth has previously been convicted and sentenced for a felo- 18 ny, or 19 (c) such youth has previously been adjudicated a youthful offender 20 following conviction of a felony or has been adjudicated on or after 21 September first, nineteen hundred seventy-eight a juvenile delinquent 22 who committed a designated felony act as defined in the family court 23 act, or 24 (d) such youth has been convicted of the class B felony of victimizing 25 the elderly or the physically disabled in the first degree as defined in 26 section 280.10 of the penal law. 27 § 10. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed- 28 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.
