Senate Bill S5586

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5586
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 25, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sens. LANZA, HELMING, MATTERA, MURRAY, OBERACKER, PALUMBO,
   STEC,  WEIK  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be
   committed to the Committee on Codes
 
 AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law and  the  executive  law,  in
   relation  to  requiring  that all family members of a crime victim and
   all interested parties who want to give a victim impact  statement  to
   parole board members be allowed to do so
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 440.50 of the criminal procedure law, as  added  by
 chapter 496 of the laws of 1978, subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 322
 of  the  laws of 2021, and subdivision 2 as amended by chapter 14 of the
 laws of 1985, is amended to read as follows:
 § 440.50 Notice to crime victims, FAMILY MEMBERS OF A CRIME VICTIM OR AN
            INTERESTED PARTY of case disposition.
   1. Upon the request of a victim of a crime, A FAMILY MEMBER OF A CRIME
 VICTIM OR AN INTERESTED PARTY, or in any event in all cases in which the
 final disposition includes a conviction of a violent felony  offense  as
 defined  in  section 70.02 of the penal law, a felony defined in article
 one hundred twenty-five of such law, or a felony defined in article  one
 hundred  thirty  of  such law, the district attorney shall, within sixty
 days of the final disposition of the case, inform the victim OR A FAMILY
 MEMBER OF A CRIME VICTIM OR AN  INTERESTED  PARTY  WHO  REQUESTS  TO  BE
 INFORMED  by letter of such final disposition. If such final disposition
 results in the commitment of the defendant to the custody of the depart-
 ment of corrections  and  community  supervision  for  an  indeterminate
 sentence,  the notice provided to the crime victim, A FAMILY MEMBER OF A
 CRIME VICTIM OR INTERESTED PARTY shall also inform the victim of [his or
 her] THEIR right to submit a written, audiotaped, or  videotaped  victim
 impact  statement  to the department of corrections and community super-
 vision or to meet personally with [a member] MEMBERS of the state  board
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD09689-01-5
              

 S. 5586                             2
 
 of parole WHO WILL DETERMINE WHETHER THE DEFENDANT IS RELEASED at a time
 and  place  separate  from  the  personal  interview between a member or
 members of the board and the incarcerated individual  and  make  such  a
 statement,  subject  to procedures and limitations contained in rules of
 the board, both pursuant to  subdivision  two  of  section  two  hundred
 fifty-nine-i  of  the  executive  law.  A  copy  of such letter shall be
 provided to the board of parole. The  right  of  the  victim,  A  FAMILY
 MEMBER  OF  A CRIME VICTIM OR AN INTERESTED PARTY under this subdivision
 to submit a written victim impact statement or to meet  personally  with
 [a member] MEMBERS of the state board of parole applies to each personal
 interview  between a member or members of the board and the incarcerated
 individual.
   2. As used in this section,  "victim"  means  any  person  alleged  or
 found,  upon  the record, to have sustained physical or financial injury
 to person or property as a direct result  of  the  crime  charged  or  a
 person  alleged  or found to have sustained, upon the record, an offense
 under article one hundred thirty of the penal law, or in the case  of  a
 homicide or minor child, the victim's family.
   3.  As  used  in  this  section, "final disposition" means an ultimate
 termination of the case at the trial level including,  but  not  limited
 to,  dismissal,  acquittal, or imposition of sentence by the court, or a
 decision by the district attorney, for whatever reason, to not file  the
 case.
   4.  AS USED IN THIS SECTION, "FAMILY MEMBER OF A CRIME VICTIM" MEANS A
 MEMBER OF THE VICTIM'S IMMEDIATE FAMILY WHO IS AT  LEAST  SIXTEEN  YEARS
 OLD.
   5.  AS  USED  IN THIS SECTION, "INTERESTED PARTY" SHALL MEAN A PERSON,
 WHO IS NOT A FAMILY MEMBER OF A CRIME VICTIM, DESIGNATED  BY  THE  JUDGE
 WHO  IMPOSES  THE  SENTENCE  ON  THE  DEFENDANT,  AS A PERSON WHO HAS AN
 INVOLVEMENT WITH THE CASE SUFFICIENT TO MAKE SUCH PERSON  AN  INTERESTED
 PARTY. THE JUDGE WHO IMPOSES THE SENTENCE ON A DEFENDANT SHALL DESIGNATE
 INTERESTED PARTIES, IF ANY, AT THE TIME OF SENTENCING.
   §  2. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 2 of section 259-i of the executive
 law, as amended by chapter 322 of the laws of 2021, is amended  to  read
 as follows:
   (c) (A) Discretionary release on parole shall not be granted merely as
 a  reward  for  good  conduct  or  efficient performance of duties while
 confined but after considering if  there  is  a  reasonable  probability
 that,  if  such  incarcerated  individual  is released, [he or she] SUCH
 INCARCERATED INDIVIDUAL will live and remain at liberty without  violat-
 ing  the  law,  and  that  [his  or  her] SUCH INCARCERATED INDIVIDUAL'S
 release is not incompatible with the welfare of society and will not  so
 deprecate the seriousness of [his or her] SUCH INCARCERATED INDIVIDUAL'S
 crime  as  to  undermine  respect  for law. In making the parole release
 decision, the procedures adopted pursuant to subdivision four of section
 two hundred fifty-nine-c of this article shall require that the  follow-
 ing  be considered: (i) the institutional record including program goals
 and accomplishments, academic achievements, vocational education, train-
 ing or work assignments, therapy and interactions with staff and  incar-
 cerated  individuals;  (ii)  performance,  if any, as a participant in a
 temporary release  program;  (iii)  release  plans  including  community
 resources,  employment,  education  and  training  and  support services
 available to the incarcerated individual;  (iv)  any  deportation  order
 issued  by  the  federal  government against the incarcerated individual
 while in the custody of the department and any recommendation  regarding
 deportation  made  by  the  commissioner  of  the department pursuant to
 S. 5586                             3
 
 section one hundred forty-seven of the correction law; (v)  any  current
 or prior statement made to the board by the crime victim or the victim's
 representative,  where  the  crime  victim is deceased or is mentally or
 physically  incapacitated OR A FAMILY MEMBER OF A CRIME VICTIM OR INTER-
 ESTED PARTY AS DEFINED IN SECTION 440.50 OF THE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE  LAW;
 (vi)  the  length  of the determinate sentence to which the incarcerated
 individual would be subject had [he or she] SUCH INCARCERATED INDIVIDUAL
 received a sentence pursuant to section 70.70 or section  70.71  of  the
 penal  law  for a felony defined in article two hundred twenty or FORMER
 article two hundred twenty-one of the penal law; (vii)  the  seriousness
 of the offense with due consideration to the type of sentence, length of
 sentence  and  recommendations  of  the  sentencing  court, the district
 attorney, the attorney for the incarcerated individual, the pre-sentence
 probation report as well as consideration of any mitigating  and  aggra-
 vating  factors,  and  activities following arrest prior to confinement;
 and (viii) prior criminal record, including the nature  and  pattern  of
 offenses, adjustment to any previous probation or parole supervision and
 institutional  confinement.  The board shall provide toll free telephone
 access for crime victims,  FAMILY  MEMBERS  AND  INTERESTED  PARTIES  AS
 DEFINED  IN SECTION 440.50 OF THE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE LAW. In the case of
 an oral statement made in accordance with  subdivision  one  of  section
 440.50  of  the  criminal  procedure law, [the parole board member shall
 present a written report of the statement to the parole board] SUCH ORAL
 STATEMENT SHALL BE MADE TO THE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD WHO  WILL  DETERMINE
 WHETHER THE DEFENDANT IS RELEASED. A crime victim's representative shall
 mean  the  crime  victim's  closest surviving relative, the committee or
 guardian of such person, or the legal representative of any such person.
 Such statement submitted by the victim or victim's representative, OR  A
 FAMILY  MEMBER  OF  A  CRIME  VICTIM  OR  INTERESTED PARTY AS DEFINED IN
 SECTION 440.50 OF THE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE  LAW  may  include  information
 concerning  threatening  or  intimidating conduct toward the victim, the
 victim's representative, or the victim's  family,  made  by  the  person
 sentenced  and  occurring  after  the  sentencing.  Such information may
 include, but need not be limited to,  the  threatening  or  intimidating
 conduct  of  any  other  person  who  or which is directed by the person
 sentenced. Any statement by a victim [or], the victim's  representative,
 A  FAMILY  MEMBER  OF  A CRIME VICTIM OR AN INTERESTED PARTY made to the
 board shall be maintained by the department in the file provided to  the
 board  when interviewing the incarcerated individual in consideration of
 release. A victim [or], victim's  representative,  FAMILY  MEMBER  OF  A
 CRIME  VICTIM OR INTERESTED PARTY who has submitted a written request to
 the department for the transcript of such interview  shall  be  provided
 such transcript as soon as it becomes available.
   (B)  Where  a  crime  victim  or victim's representative as defined in
 subparagraph (A) of this paragraph OR A FAMILY MEMBER OF A CRIME  VICTIM
 OR  INTERESTED PARTY AS DEFINED IN SECTION 440.50 OF THE CRIMINAL PROCE-
 DURE LAW, or other person submits to the parole board a  written  state-
 ment  concerning  the  release of an incarcerated individual, the parole
 board shall keep that individual's name and address confidential.
   § 3. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed-
 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.