NY State Senate Bill 2021-S171

Senate Bill S171

2021-2022 Legislative Session

Authorizes imposition of life imprisonment without parole sentence for persistent violent felony offenders; repealer

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Codes Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 05, 2022	referred to codes
Jan 06, 2021	referred to codes

co-Sponsors

2021-S171 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A5334
Current Committee:: Senate Codes
Law Section:: Penal Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§70.00 & 70.08, rpld §70.08 sub 3, Pen L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2017-2018: S4036
2019-2020: S357, A6667
2023-2024: S103, A5557

2021-S171 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Authorizes imposition of life imprisonment without parole sentence for persistent violent felony offenders upon conviction of a violent felony offense when such person has previously been subjected to two or more predicate violent felony convictions.

2021-S171 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S171

SPONSOR: TEDISCO
 
TITLE OF BILL:

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

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To authorize the imposition of life imprisonment without parole for
persistent violent felony offenders.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Sections 1 and 2: Amend penal law sections 70.00 (5) and 70.08 (2) to
require that criminal defendants found to be persistent violent felony
offenders, as defined in penal law section 70.08 (1) (a), be sentenced
to life imprisonment without parole.

Section 3: Repeals, as inconsistent and unnecessary, penal law section
70.08(3); which sets forth the minimum periods of imprisonment of the
various indeterminate sentences currently in place for persistent
violent felony offenders.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Persistent violent offenders are a particularly menacing threat to soci-
ety. Those individuals who cannot be rehabilitated or function within
society's laws should not be set free. The category of criminal defend-
ants defined under law as persistent violent felony offenders is
comprised of those who have been convicted on at least two previous and
separate occasions of violent felony offenses such as: kidnapping, first
degree rape or criminal sexual act; first or second degree robbery,
first or second degree burglary, arson, or gang assault.

This bill would classify defendants as a persistent violent felony
offender if each of that defendant's violent felonies had been committed
after a sentence for a previous violent felony was imposed.  A total of
at least three violent felonies must have been committed within 10
years, not counting time served under imprisonment, of the imposition of
sentence on the preceding violent felony. (PEOPLE V.  MORSE, 62 N.Y.2d
205 1984, appeal dismissed 105 S.Ct. 951 1985). Thus, persistent violent
felony offenders are among the most dangerous of all repeat criminals.

Although the sentences which may be imposed on persistent violent felony
offenders were increased in 1995 (Ch. 3, L.1995) so that they range from
an indeterminate term of twelve years to life up to an indeterminate
term of twenty-five years to life, this is still insufficient. Informa-
tion from the New York State Department of Corrections and Community
Supervision reveals that persistent violent felony offenders are
currently incarcerated for an average of only nine years; far less than
what is warranted by the history and nature of their crimes.

This bill will remedy the present situation of letting dangerous crimi-
nals back into society. By requiring that a defendant who has been sepa-
rately convicted and sentenced for three or more violent felonies, and
who is determined by a court to be a persistent violent felony offender,
we can sentence these individuals to life imprisonment without parole.
This will provide an additional measure of deterrence against the
commission of violent crime. The enactment of such a "Three Strikes and
You're In" law will also help to ensure that violent, recidivist crimi-
nals are permanently prevented from posing a further danger to the safe-
ty of society.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

02/02/17:S.4036 REFERRED TO CODES
01/03/18:S.4036 REFERRED TO CODES
04/30/18:5.4036 COMMITTEE DISCHARGED AND COMMITTED TO RULES
04/30/18:S.4036 ORDERED TO THIRD READING CAL.870
05/01/18:S.4036 PASSED SENATE
05/01/18:S.4036 DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY
05/01/18:S.4036 referred to codes
01/09/19:S.357 REFERRED TO CODES
01/08/20:S.357 REFERRED TO CODES

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

Increased length is incarceration for a certain population of criminals.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become a law.

2021-S171 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    171
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 6, 2021
                                ___________
 
 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.
                                                            LBD03441-01-1

 S. 171                              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.

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Senate Bill S171

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Sponsored By

James Tedisco