BILL NUMBER: S8464A
SPONSOR: SALAZAR
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to convictions
under felony murder provisions; and to repeal certain provisions of the
penal law relating thereto
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
By repealing felony murder liability and providing for vacatur and
resentencing eligibility for those who have previously been convicted
and/or charged with felony murder, this bill will reform New York's
Penal Law to align with international norms regarding proportional
sentencing and reforms being undertaken in other jurisdictions in the
United States.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 sets forth legislative findings and intent.
Section 2 repeals the current subdivision pertaining to felony murder
(subdivision 3 of section 125.25 of NYS penal law.)
Section 3 sets forth procedures for the vacating of sentences and resen-
tencing of those previously convicted or charged with felony murder.
Sections 4 and 6 establish reporting requirements regarding convictions
under federal murder liability, and vacatur and resentencing under this
legislation.
Section 5 establishes the responsibilities of the office of court admin-
istration regarding notification of individuals serving sentences under
felony murder liability and their potential eligibility for vacatur and
resentencing.
Section 7 establishes the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
New York's penal law pertaining to felony murder eliminates the
distinction between intentional and unintentional homicide and is not
consistent with the principle of proportionality in charging and
sentencing. Felony murder doctrine allows a defendant to be charged and
sentenced for murder in circumstances where they were committing or
attempting to commit a felony but did not actually commit a homicidal
act, intend that a homicidal act be committed, or even know that another
person had committed such an act. Under current state law, an accomplice
to a crime, for example someone driving a getaway car, may be charged
with murder as if they had actually shot someone in the course of a
crime such as robbery even in a circumstance where they were unarmed and
physically removed from the site of the murder. Evidence from other
states indicates that as many as one in five individuals serving prison
sentences for murder have been convicted based on felony murder
doctrine. Studies have also found that prosecutors use the threat of
felony murder charges to obtain pleas deals for lengthy sentences,
demonstrating felony murder doctrine's role in extreme sentencing and
mass incarceration.
Felony murder doctrine originated in England but was banned there in
1957 and subsequently in other Commonwealth countries including Canada,
which banned it in 1990. The United States is an outlier globally in its
application of felony murder doctrine, although some states, notably
California, Minnesota, and Colorado, have in the last five years intro-
duced significant reforms with California and Minnesota reintroducing
the intention to kill as a requirement for the application of felony
murder charges. New York has not undertaken such reforms and remains one
of just thirteen states including Texas and Florida where felony murder
doctrine is used by prosecutors to pursue murder charges when the indi-
vidual committing a homicidal act is a third party such as a victim
holding their ground, a law enforcement officer, or a bystander.
Evidence from across the country reveals that felony murder laws have
disproportionately negative consequences for non-white people, young
people, and victims of domestic violence: in Pennsylvania eighty percent
of those imprisoned with a felony murder conviction were people of
color; in California sixty-eight percent of those serving time for felo-
ny murder are black or Latinx; according to the California Coalition for
Women Prisoners, the majority of their members convicted of felony
murder were victims of domestic violence; and a recent study by profes-
sors from the University of Buffalo found that Black people were almost
twenty times and Latinx people almost six times as likely as white
people to be arrested for and charged with felony murder.
Repealing felony murder liability and providing for vacatur and resen-
tencing eligibility for those who have previously been convicted and/or
charged with felony murder is the most effective way to reform New
York's Penal Law to align with international norms regarding propor-
tional sentencing and reforms being undertaken in other jurisdictions in
the United States.
 
AMENDED BILL:
The "A" print of this bill would repeal the existing felony murder
provision of the penal law and also establishes a detailed vacatur and
resentencing process.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
SENATE: 2023-24 56865 (Salazar) - referred to Codes
ASSEMBLY: 2023-24 A2899 (Carroll) - referred to Codes
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
To be determined
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, section three
of this act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall have
become a law.

Statutes affected:
S8464: 125.25 penal law, 125.25(3) penal law, 40.00 penal law, 40.00(2) penal law, 70.02 penal law, 70.02(1) penal law
S8464A: 125.25 penal law, 125.25(3) penal law