New York A 2559: Expands the definition of the offense of murder in the first degree to include murder occurring after an attempt to commit certain sexual offenses

Bill Text

Bill Search and Legislative Information | New York State Assembly 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

 Skip to main content 

 New York State Assembly

 Speaker Carl E. Heastie

 --> 
 --> 

 --> 

• 
 Assembly Members 

• 
 Legislative Info 

• 
 Public Hearings 

• 
 Speaker's Press 

• 
 Assembly Reports 

• 
 Committees & More 

• Bill Search Home
• Laws
• Legislative Calendar
• Public Hearing Schedule
• Assembly Calendars
• Assembly Committee Agenda 

 Javascript must be enabled to properly view this page. 

 Bill No.: 

• Summary 
• Actions 
• Committee&nbspVotes 
• Floor&nbspVotes 
• Memo 
• Text 
• LFIN 
• Chamber&nbspVideo/Transcript 
A02559 Summary:

BILL NOA02559 

&nbsp

SAME ASSAME AS S02645

&nbsp

SPONSORHawley

&nbsp

COSPNSRDeStefano, Gallahan, Giglio, Lemondes, Tague

&nbsp

MLTSPNSRAngelino

&nbsp

Amd §125.27, Pen L

&nbsp

Relates to murder in the first degree.

Go to top A02559 Actions:

BILL NOA02559 

&nbsp

01/17/2025referred to codes

01/07/2026referred to codes

Go to topA02559 Committee&nbspVotes:

Go to topA02559 Floor&nbspVotes:

There are no Assembly votes for this bill in this legislative session.

Go to topA02559 Text:

 STATE OF NEW YORK
 ________________________________________________________________________

 2559

 2025-2026 Regular Sessions

 IN ASSEMBLY

 January 17, 2025
 ___________

 Introduced by M. of A. HAWLEY -- read once and referred 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

 A. 2559 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