2023 New York Laws › PEN - Penal › Part 2 - Sentences › Title E - Sentences › Article 70 - Sentences of Imprisonment › 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, 2025
* 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, 2025
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, 2025