STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
925
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 5, 2017
___________
Introduced by Sens. CROCI, AKSHAR, DeFRANCISCO, FUNKE, GALLIVAN, GOLDEN,
MARCHIONE, RANZENHOFER, SEWARD -- read twice and ordered printed, and
when printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to murder in the first degree
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 10.00 of the penal law is amended by adding a new
2 subdivision 22 to read as follows:
3 22. "Member of the military or reserves" means (a) a member of the
4 United States army, navy, air force, marines, coast guard, army national
5 guard, air national guard and/or reserves thereof or (b) a member of the
6 New York guard or the New York naval militia.
7 § 2. Section 125.27 of the penal law, as added by chapter 367 of the
8 laws of 1974, subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 1 of the laws of 1995,
9 subparagraph (ii-a) of paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 as added by chap-
10 ter 1 of the laws of 2013, subparagraph (vii) of paragraph (a) of subdi-
11 vision 1 as amended by chapter 264 of the laws of 2003, subparagraph
12 (xii) of paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 as amended and subparagraph
13 (xiii) of paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 as added by chapter 300 of the
14 laws of 2001, is amended to read as follows:
15 § 125.27 Murder in the first degree.
16 A person is guilty of murder in the first degree when:
17 1. With intent to cause the death of another person, he or she causes
18 the death of such person or of a third person; and
19 (a) Either:
20 (i) the intended victim was a police officer as defined in subdivision
21 [34] thirty-four of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law who was
22 at the time of the killing engaged in the course of performing his or
23 her official duties, and the defendant knew or reasonably should have
24 known that the intended victim was a police officer; or
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02163-01-7
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1 (ii) the intended victim was a peace officer as defined in paragraph a
2 of subdivision twenty-one, subdivision twenty-three, twenty-four or
3 sixty-two (employees of the division for youth) of section 2.10 of the
4 criminal procedure law who was at the time of the killing engaged in the
5 course of performing his or her official duties, and the defendant knew
6 or reasonably should have known that the intended victim was such a
7 uniformed court officer, parole officer, probation officer, or employee
8 of the division for youth; or
9 (ii-a) the intended victim was a firefighter, emergency medical tech-
10 nician, ambulance driver, paramedic, physician or registered nurse
11 involved in a first response team, or any other individual who, in the
12 course of official duties, performs emergency response activities and
13 was engaged in such activities at the time of killing and the defendant
14 knew or reasonably should have known that the intended victim was such
15 firefighter, emergency medical technician, ambulance driver, paramedic,
16 physician or registered nurse; or
17 (iii) the intended victim was an employee of a state correctional
18 institution or was an employee of a local correctional facility as
19 defined in subdivision two of section forty of the correction law, who
20 was at the time of the killing engaged in the course of performing his
21 or her official duties, and the defendant knew or reasonably should have
22 known that the intended victim was an employee of a state correctional
23 institution or a local correctional facility; or
24 (iv) at the time of the commission of the killing, the defendant was
25 confined in a state correctional institution or was otherwise in custody
26 upon a sentence for the term of his or her natural life, or upon a
27 sentence commuted to one of natural life, or upon a sentence for an
28 indeterminate term the minimum of which was at least fifteen years and
29 the maximum of which was natural life, or at the time of the commission
30 of the killing, the defendant had escaped from such confinement or
31 custody while serving such a sentence and had not yet been returned to
32 such confinement or custody; or
33 (v) the intended victim was a witness to a crime committed on a prior
34 occasion and the death was caused for the purpose of preventing the
35 intended victim's testimony in any criminal action or proceeding whether
36 or not such action or proceeding had been commenced, or the intended
37 victim had previously testified in a criminal action or proceeding and
38 the killing was committed for the purpose of exacting retribution for
39 such prior testimony, or the intended victim was an immediate family
40 member of a witness to a crime committed on a prior occasion and the
41 killing was committed for the purpose of preventing or influencing the
42 testimony of such witness, or the intended victim was an immediate fami-
43 ly member of a witness who had previously testified in a criminal action
44 or proceeding and the killing was committed for the purpose of exacting
45 retribution upon such witness for such prior testimony. As used in this
46 subparagraph "immediate family member" means a husband, wife, father,
47 mother, daughter, son, brother, sister, stepparent, grandparent, step-
48 child or grandchild; or
49 (vi) the defendant committed the killing or procured commission of the
50 killing pursuant to an agreement with a person other than the intended
51 victim to commit the same for the receipt, or in expectation of the
52 receipt, of anything of pecuniary value from a party to the agreement or
53 from a person other than the intended victim acting at the direction of
54 a party to such agreement; or
55 (vii) the victim was killed while the defendant was in the course of
56 committing or attempting to commit and in furtherance of robbery,
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1 burglary in the first degree or second degree, kidnapping in the first
2 degree, arson in the first degree or second degree, rape in the first
3 degree, criminal sexual act in the first degree, sexual abuse in the
4 first degree, aggravated sexual abuse in the first degree or escape in
5 the first degree, or in the course of and furtherance of immediate
6 flight after committing or attempting to commit any such crime or in the
7 course of and furtherance of immediate flight after attempting to commit
8 the crime of murder in the second degree; provided however, the victim
9 is not a participant in one of the aforementioned crimes and, provided
10 further that, unless the defendant's criminal liability under this
11 subparagraph is based upon the defendant having commanded another person
12 to cause the death of the victim or intended victim pursuant to section
13 20.00 of this chapter, this subparagraph shall not apply where the
14 defendant's criminal liability is based upon the conduct of another
15 pursuant to section 20.00 of this chapter; or
16 (viii) as part of the same criminal transaction, the defendant, with
17 intent to cause serious physical injury to or the death of an additional
18 person or persons, causes the death of an additional person or persons;
19 provided, however, the victim is not a participant in the criminal tran-
20 saction; or
21 (ix) prior to committing the killing, the defendant had been convicted
22 of murder as defined in this section or section 125.25 of this article,
23 or had been convicted in another jurisdiction of an offense which, if
24 committed in this state, would constitute a violation of either of such
25 sections; or
26 (x) the defendant acted in an especially cruel and wanton manner
27 pursuant to a course of conduct intended to inflict and inflicting
28 torture upon the victim prior to the victim's death. As used in this
29 subparagraph, "torture" means the intentional and depraved infliction of
30 extreme physical pain; "depraved" means the defendant relished the
31 infliction of extreme physical pain upon the victim evidencing debase-
32 ment or perversion or that the defendant evidenced a sense of pleasure
33 in the infliction of extreme physical pain; or
34 (xi) the defendant intentionally caused the death of two or more addi-
35 tional persons within the state in separate criminal transactions within
36 a period of twenty-four months when committed in a similar fashion or
37 pursuant to a common scheme or plan; or
38 (xii) the intended victim was a judge as defined in subdivision twen-
39 ty-three of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law and the defendant
40 killed such victim because such victim was, at the time of the killing,
41 a judge; or
42 (xiii) the victim was killed in furtherance of an act of terrorism, as
43 defined in paragraph (b) of subdivision one of section 490.05 of this
44 chapter; [and] or
45 (xiv) the intended victim was a member of the military or reserves who
46 was at the time of the killing engaged in the course of performing his
47 or her official duties, and the defendant knew or reasonably should have
48 known that the intended victim was a member of the military or reserves;
49 and
50 (b) The defendant was more than eighteen years old at the time of the
51 commission of the crime.
52 2. In any prosecution under subdivision one, it is an affirmative
53 defense that:
54 (a) The defendant acted under the influence of extreme emotional
55 disturbance for which there was a reasonable explanation or excuse, the
56 reasonableness of which is to be determined from the viewpoint of a
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1 person in the defendant's situation under the circumstances as the
2 defendant believed them to be. Nothing contained in this paragraph shall
3 constitute a defense to a prosecution for, or preclude a conviction of,
4 manslaughter in the first degree or any other crime except murder in the
5 second degree; or
6 (b) The defendant's conduct consisted of causing or aiding, without
7 the use of duress or deception, another person to commit suicide. Noth-
8 ing contained in this paragraph shall constitute a defense to a prose-
9 cution for, or preclude a conviction of, manslaughter in the second
10 degree or any other crime except murder in the second degree.
11 Murder in the first degree is a class A-I felony.
12 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.