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BILL NUMBER:S4717B

TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the penal law, in relation to the definitions of aggravated and first degree murder

PURPOSE: This bill updates the definitions of aggravated murder and murder in the first degree to include murder of an emergency first responder.

SUMMARY: Section 1 entitles this act "Mark's Law"

Section 2 adds a new subparagraph (ii-a) in subdivision 1 of section 125.26 of the penal law related to intended victims of aggravated murder to include a list of emergency responders: emergency medical technician, firefighter, ambulance driver, paramedic, physician or registered nurse involved in first response team.

Section 3 adds a new subparagraph (ii-a) in subdivision 1 of section 125.27 of the penal law related to intended victims of murder in the first degree to include a list of emergency responders: emergency medical technician, firefighter, ambulance driver, paramedic, physician or registered nurse involved in first response team.

Section 4 provides for the immediate effectiveness of this act.

JUSTIFICATION: We depend on our emergency first responders to react without hesitation and arrive on the scene to save lives and protect us from further harm. They are the hero's of our home towns and their positions should be held in high honor. Since the public places faith and trust in them, they also deserve to have the highest levels of protection the law will allow. While the dangers that our first responders face every day but we can take steps to deter and punish those who would purposefully target our emergency first responders.

Current law defines aggravated murder and murder in the first degree by including a list of individuals who, when killed while performing their official duties, make the murderer guilty of these crimes. They include: police officers, peace officers, uniformed court officers, parole officers, probation officers, employees of the division of youth, and corrections officers. When an individual knowingly kills one of these public servants, current law makes the killer guilty of aggravated murder and murder in the first degree. Both crimes are class A-1 felonies under the Penal Law.

This bill adds a list of emergency responders to the existing list of public servants within the Penal Law to include: emergency medical technicians, firefighters, volunteer firefighters, ambulance drivers, paramedics and physicians or nurses involved in first response teams.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: New bill.

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None to the state.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect immediately.

Text

STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________

4717--B
Cal. No. 64

2011-2012 Regular Sessions

IN SENATE

April 15, 2011
___________

Introduced  by  Sens.  RITCHIE,  AVELLA,  GRIFFO, LIBOUS, O'MARA -- read
  twice and ordered printed, and when printed to  be  committed  to  the
  Committee  on Codes -- reported favorably from said committee, ordered
  to first and second report, ordered to a third  reading,  amended  and
  ordered  reprinted,  retaining its place in the order of third reading
  -- recommitted to the Committee on Codes  in  accordance  with  Senate
  Rule  6,  sec. 8 -- reported favorably from said committee, ordered to
  first and second report, ordered  to  a  third  reading,  amended  and
  ordered reprinted, retaining its place in the order of third reading

AN  ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to the definitions of aggra-
  vated and first degree murder

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as "Mark's Law".
  S  2.  Paragraph a of subdivision 1 of section 125.26 of the penal law
is amended by adding a new subparagraph (ii-a) to read as follows:
   (II-A) THE INTENDED VICTIM WAS A FIREFIGHTER, EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECH-
NICIAN, AMBULANCE  DRIVER,  PARAMEDIC,  PHYSICIAN  OR  REGISTERED  NURSE
INVOLVED  IN  A FIRST RESPONSE TEAM, OR ANY OTHER INDIVIDUAL WHO, IN THE
COURSE OF OFFICIAL DUTIES, PERFORMS EMERGENCY  RESPONSE  ACTIVITIES  AND
WAS  ENGAGED IN SUCH ACTIVITIES AT THE TIME OF KILLING AND THE DEFENDANT
KNEW OR REASONABLY SHOULD HAVE KNOWN THAT THE INTENDED VICTIM  WAS  SUCH
FIREFIGHTER,  EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIAN, AMBULANCE DRIVER, PARAMEDIC,
PHYSICIAN OR REGISTERED NURSE; OR
  S 3. Paragraph a of subdivision 1 of section 125.27 of the  penal  law
is amended by adding a new subparagraph (ii-a) to read as follows:
   (II-A) THE INTENDED VICTIM WAS A FIREFIGHTER, EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECH-
NICIAN,  AMBULANCE  DRIVER,  PARAMEDIC,  PHYSICIAN  OR  REGISTERED NURSE
INVOLVED IN A FIRST RESPONSE TEAM, OR ANY OTHER INDIVIDUAL WHO,  IN  THE
COURSE  OF  OFFICIAL  DUTIES, PERFORMS EMERGENCY RESPONSE ACTIVITIES AND
WAS ENGAGED IN SUCH ACTIVITIES AT THE TIME OF KILLING AND THE  DEFENDANT

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD08343-08-2
S. 4717--B                          2

KNEW  OR  REASONABLY SHOULD HAVE KNOWN THAT THE INTENDED VICTIM WAS SUCH
FIREFIGHTER, EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIAN, AMBULANCE DRIVER,  PARAMEDIC,
PHYSICIAN OR REGISTERED NURSE; OR
  S  4.  The opening paragraph of subdivision 1 of section 125.26 of the
penal law, as added by chapter 765 of the laws of 2005,  is  amended  to
read as follows:
  With intent to cause the death of another person, he or she causes the
death of such person, or of a third person who was a person described in
subparagraph  (i), (ii), (II-A) or (iii) of paragraph (a) of this subdi-
vision engaged at the time of the killing in the  course  of  performing
his or her official duties; and
  S 5. This act shall take effect immediately.