BILL NUMBER:  S883A

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend the penal law, in relation to first
degree murder of a child under the age of twelve

 PURPOSE :

To provide a more appropriate punishment for those persons who act
with the intent to take a life and the victim is under the age of 12.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section one of this bill provides that this act shall be known as
"Maddox's Law."

Section two of this bill amends Penal Law section 125.27(1)(a) by
adding a new subparagraph (xiv) that adds children under the age of 12
to the list of victims for which the offense of first degree murder
may be charged when the appropriate mens rea and age requirements are
present.

Section three of this bill provides that this law shall take effect on
the first of November succeeding the date on which it shall have
become a law.

 EXISTING LAW :
              

Under current law, the murder of a child is not first degree murder
unless it is accompanied by one or more of the aggravating factors
listed in Penal Law Section 125.27(1)(a).

 JUSTIFICATION :

In recognition of their special status in society, current law treats
the intentional killing of members of certain groups, such as police
officer and fire fighters while they were performing their official
duties, as first degree murder. As a result, those who consider
murdering a member of one of these groups understand that they will
receive the most severe punishment. One other group belongs on this
list - children. Numerous instances in the recent past have
demonstrated the need for this reform.

On February 20, 2016, Ryan Lawrence beat his daughter, Maddox, in the
head with a baseball bat, killing her. Ryan Lawrence then burned his
daughter's body and her remains in a creek by tying her to a cinder
block. Maddox Lawrence was 21 months old.

On November 23rd, 2013, Conrado Juarez was indicted in the decades-old
murder of "Baby Hope," who has been identified as Anjelica Castillo.
Juarez confessed to sexually abusing the child and killing her by
smothering her with a pillow. He wrapped her body in plastic, placed
her remains in a cooler and left the cooler near the Henry Hudson
Parkway in Manhattan. At the time of her death, Anjelica Castillo was
four years old.

In 2012, Ali-Mohamed Mohamud was convicted of second-degree murder for
beating to death his 10-year-old stepson, Abdifatah Mohamud.
Ali-Mohamed Mohamud tied his stepson to a chair, placed a sock in his
mouth, secured the sock with duct tape, bound his hands with an
electrical cord and then struck the child with a rolling pin 70 times.
As a result of this beating, Abdifatah Mohamud's head was separated
from his spinal cord and his brain was exposed through the crushed
back of his head.

Had the law reflected the changes made by this bill, both Mr. Juarez
and Mr. Mohamud would have been subject to charges of first degree
murder, rather than second degree. Cases such as these cry out for the
need for increased penalties for those who murder children. This bill
answers those cries.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

2016: S.1269 - Referred to Codes
2015: S.1269 - Passed the Senate
2014: S.2238-A - Referred to Codes
2013: S.2238 - Referred to Codes
2012: S.1990 - Referred to Codes
2011: S.1990 - Referred to Codes
2010: S.6695 - Referred to Codes

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None to the State

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