Provides that the intentional murder of a child under the age of twelve shall be a first degree murder offense; amends the definition of torture related to first degree murder.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A3985
SPONSOR: Tenney (MS) TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the penal law, in relation to first degree murder of a
child under the age of twelve
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The purpose of this bill is to provide a more condign punishment for
those who prostitute their children.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
This bill first amends the definition of torture in Penal Law Section
125.27(a)(1)(x) to remove the requirement that the defendant relish the
infliction of extreme physical pain in the commission of a murder. The
bill further adds subsection (xiv) to Penal Law Section 125.27(a)(1) to
provide that the intentional killing of a child under the age 12 is
first degree murder.
EXISTING LAW:
Under current law, the murder of a child is not first degree murder
unless it is accompanied by one or more of the aggravating factors list-
ed in Penal Law Section 125.25(a)(1). Secondly, torture of the victim
prior to murder currently constitutes first degree murder only where the
defendant inflicted extreme physical pain and "relished" inflicting such
pain.
JUSTIFICATION:
In recognition of their special status in society, current law treats
the intentional killing of certain groups - police officers, judges,
among others - as first degree murder. As a result, those who consider
murdering a member of one of these groups understand that they will
receive the most severe punishment. One other group belongs on this
list-children. Numerous instances in the recent past have demonstrated
the need for this reform. One case from Buffalo in particular merits
discussion here. As reported by the Buffalo News on October 18, 2012,
jurors there convicted Ali-Mohamed Mohamud of second-degree murder for
beating to death his 10-year-old stepson. After duct-taping a sock in
the boy's mouth and binding his hands with electrical cord, the
41-year-old security guard struck Abdifatah Mohamud nearly 70 times with
a baker's hardwood rolling pin. The stepfather inflicted "devastating
blow after devastating blow" on the 4-foot, 11-inch boy, who weighed
just under a hundred pounds, separating the boy's head from his spinal
cord and crushing the back of his head, exposing his brain, according to
court testimony. Had the law reflected the changes made by this bill,
Mr. Mohamud would have been subject to charges of first degree murder,
rather than second degree. Cases such as this cry out for the need for
increased penalties for those who murder children. This bill answers
those calls.
This bill also addresses the overly narrow definition of torture in
Penal Law Section 125.27(a)(1)(x). There is no valid basis for distin-
guishing-as current law does-between the intentional infliction of
extreme physical pain where the perpetrator relishes the act, and where
he or she does not. Not only is this a meaningless distinction, it is an
obstacle to prosecutors, who must often settle for lesser charges given
the difficulty in proving the issue of whether an individual relishes
the performance of an act. This bill enacts the commonsense notion that
torture is torture, and should be treated accordingly without consider-
ation of the perpetrator's mindset.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
01/24/13 referred to codes
01/08/14 referred to codes
05/28/14 held for consideration in codes
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the first of November after it shall have
become law.
