Senate Bill S357

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    357
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 9, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. TEDISCO -- 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 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:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision 5 of section 70.00 of the penal law, as amended
 by section 40-a of part WWW of chapter  59  of  the  laws  of  2017,  is
 amended to read as follows:
   5.   Life  imprisonment  without  parole.  Notwithstanding  any  other
 provision of law, a defendant sentenced  to  life  imprisonment  without
 parole  shall  not  be  or  become  eligible  for  parole or conditional
 release. For purposes of commitment and custody, other than  parole  and
 conditional  release,  such sentence shall be deemed to be an indetermi-
 nate sentence.  A defendant may be sentenced to life imprisonment  with-
 out parole, IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROCEDURES PROVIDED BY LAW FOR IMPOS-
 ING SUCH A SENTENCE, EITHER: (A) upon conviction for the crime of murder
 in the first degree as defined in section 125.27 of this chapter [and in
 accordance  with  the procedures provided by law for imposing a sentence
 for such crime]; OR (B) UPON CONVICTION OF A VIOLENT FELONY  OFFENSE  AS
 DEFINED  IN  SUBDIVISION  ONE OF SECTION 70.02 OF THIS ARTICLE WHEN SUCH
 DEFENDANT HAS PREVIOUSLY BEEN SUBJECTED TO TWO OR MORE PREDICATE VIOLENT
 FELONY CONVICTIONS AS DEFINED IN PARAGRAPH (B)  OF  SUBDIVISION  ONE  OF
 SECTION  70.04  OF THIS ARTICLE.   A defendant who was eighteen years of
 age or older at the  time  of  the  commission  of  the  crime  must  be
 sentenced  to  life  imprisonment without parole upon conviction for the
 crime of terrorism as defined in section 490.25 of this  chapter,  where
 the specified offense the defendant committed is a class A-I felony; the
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
              

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD03951-01-9

 S. 357                              2
 
 crime  of  criminal possession of a chemical weapon or biological weapon
 in the first degree as defined in section 490.45 of this chapter; or the
 crime of criminal use of a chemical weapon or biological weapon  in  the
 first  degree  as  defined  in section 490.55 of this chapter; provided,
 however, that nothing in this subdivision shall preclude  or  prevent  a
 sentence  of  death when the defendant is also convicted of the crime of
 murder in the first degree as defined in section 125.27 of this chapter,
 OR IS ALSO CONVICTED OF A VIOLENT FELONY OFFENSE AS DEFINED IN  SUBDIVI-
 SION ONE OF SECTION 70.02 OF THIS ARTICLE WHEN SUCH DEFENDANT HAS PREVI-
 OUSLY BEEN SUBJECTED TO TWO OR MORE PREDICATE VIOLENT FELONY CONVICTIONS
 AS  DEFINED IN PARAGRAPH (B) OF SUBDIVISION ONE OF SECTION 70.04 OF THIS
 ARTICLE.  A defendant who was seventeen years of age or younger  at  the
 time of the commission of the crime may be sentenced, in accordance with
 law,  to  the  applicable  indeterminate sentence with a maximum term of
 life imprisonment. A defendant must be sentenced  to  life  imprisonment
 without  parole  upon  conviction  for the crime of murder in the second
 degree as defined in subdivision five of section 125.25 of this  chapter
 or  for  the crime of aggravated murder as defined in subdivision one of
 section 125.26 of this chapter. A defendant may  be  sentenced  to  life
 imprisonment  without parole upon conviction for the crime of aggravated
 murder as defined in subdivision two of section 125.26 of this chapter.
   § 2. Subdivision 2 of section 70.08 of the  penal  law,  as  added  by
 chapter 481 of the laws of 1978, is amended to read as follows:
   2.  Authorized  sentence.  When  the  court has found, pursuant to the
 provisions of the criminal procedure law, that a person is a  persistent
 violent felony offender the court must impose [an indeterminate sentence
 of  imprisonment,  the maximum term of which shall be life imprisonment.
 The minimum period of  imprisonment  under  such  sentence  must  be  in
 accordance  with  subdivision  three of this section] A SENTENCE OF LIFE
 IMPRISONMENT WITHOUT PAROLE PURSUANT TO SECTION 70.00 OF THIS ARTICLE.
   § 3. Subdivision 3 of section 70.08 of the penal law is REPEALED.
   § 4. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
 have become a law.