N.Y. Penal Law § 70.00: Sentence of imprisonment for felony

§ 70.00 Sentence of imprisonment for felony.

* 1. Indeterminate sentence. Except as provided in subdivisions four,

five and six of this section or section 70.80 of this article, a

sentence of imprisonment for a felony, other than a felony defined in

article two hundred twenty or two hundred twenty-one of this chapter,

shall be an indeterminate sentence. When such a sentence is imposed, the

court shall impose a maximum term in accordance with the provisions of

subdivision two of this section and the minimum period of imprisonment

shall be as provided in subdivision three of this section.

* NB Effective until September 1, 2027

* 1. Indeterminate sentence. Except as provided in subdivisions four

and five of this section or section 70.80 of this article, a sentence of

imprisonment for a felony, other than a felony defined in article two

hundred twenty or two hundred twenty-one of this chapter, shall be an

indeterminate sentence. When such a sentence is imposed, the court shall

impose a maximum term in accordance with the provisions of subdivision

two of this section and the minimum period of imprisonment shall be as

provided in subdivision three of this section.

* NB Effective September 1, 2027

2. Maximum term of sentence. The maximum term of an indeterminate

sentence shall be at least three years and the term shall be fixed as

follows:

(a) For a class A felony, the term shall be life imprisonment;

(b) For a class B felony, the term shall be fixed by the court, and

shall not exceed twenty-five years;

(c) For a class C felony, the term shall be fixed by the court, and

shall not exceed fifteen years;

(d) For a class D felony, the term shall be fixed by the court, and

shall not exceed seven years; and

(e) For a class E felony, the term shall be fixed by the court, and

shall not exceed four years.

3. Minimum period of imprisonment. The minimum period of imprisonment

under an indeterminate sentence shall be at least one year and shall be

fixed as follows:

(a) In the case of a class A felony, the minimum period shall be fixed

by the court and specified in the sentence.

(i) For a class A-I felony, such minimum period shall not be less than

fifteen years nor more than twenty-five years; provided, however, that

(A) where a sentence, other than a sentence of death or life

imprisonment without parole, is imposed upon a defendant convicted of

murder in the first degree as defined in section 125.27 of this chapter

such minimum period shall be not less than twenty years nor more than

twenty-five years, and, (B) where a sentence is imposed upon a defendant

convicted of murder in the second degree as defined in subdivision five

of section 125.25 of this chapter or convicted of aggravated murder as

defined in section 125.26 of this chapter, the sentence shall be life

imprisonment without parole, and, (C) where a sentence is imposed upon a

defendant convicted of attempted murder in the first degree as defined

in article one hundred ten of this chapter and subparagraph (i), (ii) or

(iii) of paragraph (a) of subdivision one and paragraph (b) of

subdivision one of section 125.27 of this chapter or attempted

aggravated murder as defined in article one hundred ten of this chapter

and section 125.26 of this chapter such minimum period shall be not less

than twenty years nor more than forty years.

(ii) For a class A-II felony, such minimum period shall not be less

than three years nor more than eight years four months, except that for

the class A-II felony of predatory sexual assault as defined in section

130.95 of this chapter or the class A-II felony of predatory sexual

assault against a child as defined in section 130.96 of this chapter,

such minimum period shall be not less than ten years nor more than

twenty-five years.

(b) For any other felony, the minimum period shall be fixed by the

court and specified in the sentence and shall be not less than one year

nor more than one-third of the maximum term imposed.

4. Alternative definite sentence for class D and E felonies. When a

person, other than a second or persistent felony offender, is sentenced

for a class D or class E felony, and the court, having regard to the

nature and circumstances of the crime and to the history and character

of the defendant, is of the opinion that a sentence of imprisonment is

necessary but that it would be unduly harsh to impose an indeterminate

or determinate sentence, the court may impose a definite sentence of

imprisonment and fix a term of one year or less.

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

indeterminate sentence. A defendant may be sentenced to life

imprisonment without parole 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. 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 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. 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.

* 6. Determinate sentence. Except as provided in subdivision four of

this section and subdivisions two and four of section 70.02, when a

person is sentenced as a violent felony offender pursuant to section

70.02 or as a second violent felony offender pursuant to section 70.04

or as a second felony offender on a conviction for a violent felony

offense pursuant to section 70.06, the court must impose a determinate

sentence of imprisonment in accordance with the provisions of such

sections and such sentence shall include, as a part thereof, a period of

post-release supervision in accordance with section 70.45.

* NB Repealed September 1, 2027