BILL NUMBER: S6633A                    REVISED 7/30/2019

SPONSOR: CARLUCCI
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the penal law, in relation to enacting
"Paula's law"

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

"Paula's Law" is designed to ensure that persons who molest and then
murder a child under the age of eighteen will never be released from
prison.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as "Paula's law".

Section 2. Legislative intent. This act is an expansion of "Joan's Law",
enacted under the age of eighteen.

Section 3. Subdivision 5 of section 125.25 of the penal law, as amended
by chapter 320 of the laws of 2006, is amended to read as follows:
              

Subdivision 5. Being eighteen years old or more, while in the course of
committing rape in the first, second or third degree, criminal sexual
act in the first, second or third degree, sexual abuse in the first
degree, aggravated sexual abuse in the first, second, third or fourth
degree, or incest in the first, second or third degree, against a person
less that eighteen years old, he or she intentionally causes the death
of such person.

Section 4. Effective Date

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Currently in New York State, there is no parole available to those who
sexually assault a child under age 14 and leads to the child's death.
This legislation, named for Paula Bohovesky, would expand that age range
to a child under the age of eighteen.

In 1980, sixteen year old Bohovesky was attacked and killed by Richard
LaBarbera, now 66, and Robert McCain, now 56, as she was walking home
from the library where she worked part-time in Pearl River.  Both
LaBarbera and McCain were convicted and sentenced to 25 year s to life
for the murder. In May 2019, a parole board voted to release LaBarbera
in July. McCain had an interview with the Board of Parole the week of
June 10 and was eventually denied parole on June, 24, 2019. This legis-
lation would prevent the parole of anyone who sexually assaults and
murders a child under 18 years old.

This is an expansion of "Joan's Law" which was enacted in 2004 and
denied parole in these circumstances for child victims under the age of
fourteen. Joan D'Alessandro was 7-years-old and disappeared after deliv-
ering Girl Scout cookies to the Hillsdale home of a high school science
teacher who later confessed to her murder.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New Legislation.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeeding the
date on which it shall have become a law.