S 2645: Relates to murder in the first degree.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 2645 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE January 22, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. GALLIVAN -- 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. The opening paragraph and subdivision 1 of section 125.27 2 of the penal law, the opening paragraph as added by chapter 367 of the 3 laws of 1974, subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 1 of the laws of 1995, 4 subparagraph (ii-a) of paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 as added by chap- 5 ter 1 of the laws of 2013, subparagraph (vii) of paragraph (a) of subdi- 6 vision 1 as amended by chapter 23 of the laws of 2024 and subparagraph 7 (xii) of paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 as amended and subparagraph 8 (xiii) of paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 as added by chapter 300 of the 9 laws of 2001, is amended and a new subdivision 1-a is added to read as 10 follows: 11 1. A person is guilty of murder in the first degree when[: 12 1. With], with intent to cause the death of another person, [he] the 13 person causes the death of such person or of a third person; and 14 (a) Either: 15 (i) the intended victim was a police officer as defined in subdivision 16 34 of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law who was at the time of 17 the killing engaged in the course of performing [his] the officer's 18 official duties, and the defendant knew or reasonably should have known 19 that the intended victim was a police officer; or 20 (ii) the intended victim was a peace officer as defined in paragraph a 21 of subdivision twenty-one, subdivision twenty-three, twenty-four or 22 sixty-two (employees of the division for youth) of section 2.10 of the 23 criminal procedure law who was at the time of the killing engaged in the 24 course of performing [his] the officer's official duties, and the 25 defendant knew or reasonably should have known that the intended victim EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD04601-01-5 
 S. 2645 2 1 was such a uniformed court officer, parole officer, probation officer, 2 or employee of the division for youth; or 3 (ii-a) the intended victim was a firefighter, emergency medical tech- 4 nician, ambulance driver, paramedic, physician or registered nurse 5 involved in a first response team, or any other individual who, in the 6 course of official duties, performs emergency response activities and 7 was engaged in such activities at the time of killing and the defendant 8 knew or reasonably should have known that the intended victim was such 9 firefighter, emergency medical technician, ambulance driver, paramedic, 10 physician or registered nurse; or 11 (iii) the intended victim was an employee of a state correctional 12 institution or was an employee of a local correctional facility as 13 defined in subdivision two of section forty of the correction law, who 14 was at the time of the killing engaged in the course of performing [his] 15 the employee's official duties, and the defendant knew or reasonably 16 should have known that the intended victim was an employee of a state 17 correctional institution or a local correctional facility; or 18 (iv) at the time of the commission of the killing, the defendant was 19 confined in a state correctional institution or was otherwise in custody 20 upon a sentence for the term of [his] the defendant's natural life, or 21 upon a sentence commuted to one of natural life, or upon a sentence for 22 an indeterminate term the minimum of which was at least fifteen years 23 and the maximum of which was natural life, or at the time of the commis- 24 sion of the killing, the defendant had escaped from such confinement or 25 custody while serving such a sentence and had not yet been returned to 26 such confinement or custody; or 27 (v) the intended victim was a witness to a crime committed on a prior 28 occasion and the death was caused for the purpose of preventing the 29 intended victim's testimony in any criminal action or proceeding whether 30 or not such action or proceeding had been commenced, or the intended 31 victim had previously testified in a criminal action or proceeding and 32 the killing was committed for the purpose of exacting retribution for 33 such prior testimony, or the intended victim was an immediate family 34 member of a witness to a crime committed on a prior occasion and the 35 killing was committed for the purpose of preventing or influencing the 36 testimony of such witness, or the intended victim was an immediate fami- 37 ly member of a witness who had previously testified in a criminal action 38 or proceeding and the killing was committed for the purpose of exacting 39 retribution upon such witness for such prior testimony. As used in this 40 subparagraph "immediate family member" means a [husband, wife, father, 41 mother, daughter, son, brother, sister,] spouse, parent, child, sibling, 42 stepparent, grandparent, stepchild or grandchild; or 43 (vi) the defendant committed the killing or procured commission of the 44 killing pursuant to an agreement with a person other than the intended 45 victim to commit the same for the receipt, or in expectation of the 46 receipt, of anything of pecuniary value from a party to the agreement or 47 from a person other than the intended victim acting at the direction of 48 a party to such agreement; or 49 (vii) the victim was killed while the defendant was in the course of 50 committing or attempting to commit and in furtherance of robbery, 51 burglary in the first degree or second degree, kidnapping in the first 52 degree, arson in the first degree or second degree, rape in the first 53 degree, a crime formerly defined in section 130.50 of this title, sexual 54 abuse in the first degree, aggravated sexual abuse in the first degree 55 or escape in the first degree, or in the course of and furtherance of 56 immediate flight after committing or attempting to commit any such crime 
 S. 2645 3 1 or in the course of and furtherance of immediate flight after attempting 2 to commit the crime of murder in the second degree; provided however, 3 the victim is not a participant in one of the aforementioned crimes and, 4 provided further that, unless the defendant's criminal liability under 5 this subparagraph is based upon the defendant having commanded another 6 person to cause the death of the victim or intended victim pursuant to 7 section 20.00 of this chapter, this subparagraph shall not apply where 8 the defendant's criminal liability is based upon the conduct of another 9 pursuant to section 20.00 of this chapter; or 10 (viii) as part of the same criminal transaction, the defendant, with 11 intent to cause serious physical injury to or the death of an additional 12 person or persons, causes the death of an additional person or persons; 13 provided, however, the victim is not a participant in the criminal tran- 14 saction; or 15 (ix) prior to committing the killing, the defendant had been convicted 16 of murder as defined in this section or section 125.25 of this article, 17 or had been convicted in another jurisdiction of an offense which, if 18 committed in this state, would constitute a violation of either of such 19 sections; or 20 (x) the defendant acted in an especially cruel and wanton manner 21 pursuant to a course of conduct intended to inflict and inflicting 22 torture upon the victim prior to the victim's death. As used in this 23 subparagraph, "torture" means the intentional and depraved infliction of 24 extreme physical pain; "depraved" means the defendant relished the 25 infliction of extreme physical pain upon the victim evidencing debase- 26 ment or perversion or that the defendant evidenced a sense of pleasure 27 in the infliction of extreme physical pain; or 28 (xi) the defendant intentionally caused the death of two or more addi- 29 tional persons within the state in separate criminal transactions within 30 a period of twenty-four months when committed in a similar fashion or 31 pursuant to a common scheme or plan; or 32 (xii) the intended victim was a judge as defined in subdivision twen- 33 ty-three of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law and the defendant 34 killed such victim because such victim was, at the time of the killing, 35 a judge; or 36 (xiii) the victim was killed in furtherance of an act of terrorism, as 37 defined in paragraph (b) of subdivision one of section 490.05 of this 38 chapter; and 39 (b) The defendant was more than eighteen years old at the time of the 40 commission of the crime. 41 1-a. A person is guilty of murder in the first degree when, acting 42 either alone or with one or more other persons, such person commits or 43 attempts to commit rape in the first degree as defined under section 44 130.35 of this title, criminal sexual act in the first degree as defined 45 under former section 130.50 of this title, sexual abuse in the first 46 degree as defined under section 130.65 of this title, or in the course 47 of and furtherance of immediate flight after committing or attempting to 48 commit any such crimes, such person, or another participant if there be 49 any, causes the death of a person other than one of the participants, 50 and the deceased person is found to have been administered any unlaw- 51 fully controlled substance or any preparation, compound, mixture or 52 substance that requires a prescription to obtain as defined under 53 section 130.90 of this title. 54 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.