Authorizes courts to reduce or modify sentences for certain individuals when such sentence is deemed to be greater than necessary to achieve the purposes of sentencing.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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7503
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
April 21, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sen. CLEARE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to authorizing
courts to reduce or modify sentences for certain individuals when such
sentence is deemed to be greater than necessary to achieve the
purposes of sentencing
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 440.20 of the criminal procedure law is amended by
2 adding a new subdivision 5 to read as follows:
3 5. (a) Upon motion of an eligible individual, the court in which judg-
4 ment was entered may reduce or modify the sentence on the ground that
5 such sentence is greater than necessary to achieve the purposes of
6 sentencing. Subdivision two of this section shall not apply to a motion
7 brought under this subdivision.
8 (b) An individual is eligible for relief under this subdivision when
9 such individual:
10 (i) has been convicted, either by plea or verdict, of a felony offense
11 and is in the custody of the department of corrections and community
12 supervision;
13 (ii) is more than two years away from conditional release at time of
14 filing the motion;
15 (iii) was sentenced to an indeterminate term with an aggregate minimum
16 term of ten years or more or an aggregate determinate term of ten years
17 or more;
18 (iv) has served (1) at least one-third of the aggregate minimum term
19 of an indeterminate sentence or at least one-third of an aggregate
20 determinate sentence, or (2) where the individual is serving two or more
21 sentences that run consecutively, the time required to be served for
22 eligibility under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph or eight and one-
23 third years, whichever is less;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11713-01-5
S. 7503 2
1 (v) is not currently serving a sentence for: an offense defined in
2 article one hundred twenty-five, one hundred thirty or two hundred
3 sixty-three of the penal law; or money laundering in support of terror-
4 ism in the first degree as defined in section 470.24 of the penal law;
5 or money laundering in support of terrorism in the second degree as
6 defined in section 470.23 of the penal law; or a felony crime of terror-
7 ism as defined in article four hundred ninety of the penal law, other
8 than the crime defined in section 490.20 of such law;
9 (vi) is not currently serving a sentence for an offense that included
10 as an element the infliction of serious physical injury; except that
11 this subparagraph shall not apply when the individual's criminal liabil-
12 ity for the offense was based solely on the physical actions or conduct
13 of another pursuant to section 20.00 of the penal law; or
14 (vii) if defendant has appealed from a judgment or sentence that is
15 the subject of relief pursuant to this section, such appeal has been
16 finally determined. Nothing in this subparagraph shall be construed to
17 require that the defendant has taken a direct appeal in order to be
18 eligible for relief pursuant to this section.
19 (c) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (b) of this subdivi-
20 sion, an otherwise ineligible individual shall be deemed eligible upon
21 consent of the district attorney.
22 (d) An individual who is serving the minimum sentence permitted under
23 the penal law shall not be eligible under this subdivision.
24 (e) A motion brought pursuant to this subdivision shall be referred
25 for determination to the judge or justice who imposed the original
26 sentence upon such individual. If, at the time of the application, the
27 original sentencing judge or justice is no longer a judge or justice of
28 a court of competent jurisdiction, then the application shall be
29 assigned to another judge or justice of the court by the administrative
30 judge of the applicable court.
31 (f) In deciding the motion, the court shall consider the principles of
32 rehabilitation, punishment and deterrence, the rehabilitation demon-
33 strated by the defendant, and the promotion of the individual's success-
34 ful reentry and reintegration into society, as well as public safety.
35 The court may consider any facts or circumstances relevant to the impo-
36 sition of a new sentence that are submitted by such individual or the
37 district attorney, including, but not limited to:
38 (i) age, personal circumstances, and medical condition, including
39 conditions that existed at the time of the original sentencing;
40 (ii) the defendant's institutional record of confinement; and
41 (iii) whether the individual has availed themself of educational,
42 therapeutic, and vocational opportunities while imprisoned.
43 (g) The court shall not order a new pre-sentence investigation and
44 report. The court shall offer the defendant an opportunity for a hear-
45 ing. If the court finds that the sentence is greater than necessary to
46 achieve the purposes of sentencing, the court shall grant the motion and
47 enter an order modifying the sentence to any lesser authorized term of
48 imprisonment. The order may also direct that the new sentence run
49 concurrently with any other term of imprisonment being served by the
50 individual. The court shall place its reasons on the record for modifi-
51 cation of the sentence, or denial of modification.
52 (h) In the event that an individual is denied relief under this subdi-
53 vision, or in the event that the individual is denied the full reduction
54 sought, such individual may bring a new motion at any time after three
55 years from the date of denial of the previous motion.
S. 7503 3
1 (i) An appeal to an intermediate appellate court may be taken as of
2 right from an order denying a motion made pursuant to this subdivision.
3 (j) No defendant shall be required or permitted to waive eligibility
4 for relief pursuant to this section as part of a plea of guilty,
5 sentence or any agreement related to a conviction for a felony offense,
6 and any such waiver shall be deemed void and wholly unenforceable.
7 (k) An order modifying the sentence pursuant to this section shall not
8 affect the validity or status of the underlying conviction.
9 (l) Subdivision one of section seven hundred seventeen and subdivision
10 four of section seven hundred twenty-two of the county law, and the
11 related provisions of article eighteen-A of such law, shall apply to the
12 preparation of and proceedings on motions pursuant to this section, as
13 well as to any appeals taken pursuant to this subdivision.
14 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to
15 offenses committed before, on or after the date this act shall have
16 become a law.
