Loading AI tools
Aspect of New York criminal law From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Murder in New York law constitutes the unlawful killing, under circumstances defined by law, of people within or under the jurisdiction of the U.S. state of New York. Because the criminal law of the state also governs the City of New York, there is not a separate law applicable to murders committed in the city.
The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that in the year 2021, the state had a murder rate somewhat below the median for the entire country.[1]
First-degree murder or aggravated murder is the most serious homicide offense in New York state. It is defined as the intentional killing of a person without justification with one of the following aggravating factors:
A defendant under the age of 18 cannot be charged with first-degree murder. First-degree murder is punishable by 20 to 40 years in prison, or life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. The death penalty was ruled unconstitutional in New York in 2007.[2][3][4]
Second-degree murder is the second most serious homicide offense in New York. It is defined as when someone commits an intentional killing without a felony under New York's felony murder rule, or an unintentional killing which either exhibits a "depraved indifference to human life" or an unintentional killing caused by the commission or attempted commission of a felony under New York's felony murder rule.
Second-degree murder is punishable by 15 to 25 years in prison, or life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 25 years, or life-without-parole if the victim was under 14.[3][4][5]
In the state of New York, the common law felony murder rule has been codified in New York Penal Law § 125.25.[6] The New York version of the rule provides that a death occurring during the commission of certain felonies, without the intent to kill, becomes second degree murder, and with intent to kill, becomes first degree murder.
A defendant can be charged with second-degree murder when they committed or attempted to commit one of the following felonies, regardless of intent to kill, causing someone's death, and they can be charged with first-degree murder when the defendant had intent to kill:[6]
The rule also provides an affirmative defense.[7] The defendant has an affirmative defense if the crime was committed in a group and they:
The sentences for homicide offenses in New York are listed below.[3][4]
Offense | Mandatory sentence |
---|---|
Criminally negligent homicide | 1 to 5 years in prison |
Second-degree vehicular manslaughter | 2 to 7 years in prison |
Aggravated criminally negligent homicide | 3+1⁄2 to 15 years in prison |
First-degree vehicular manslaughter | |
Second-degree manslaughter | |
Aggravated vehicular manslaughter | 5 to 25 years in prison |
First-degree manslaughter | |
Second-degree murder |
|
First-degree murder |
|
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.