2023 New York Laws › PEN - Penal › Part 3 - Specific Offenses › Title H - Offenses Against the Person Involving Physical Injury, Sexual Conduct, Restraint and Intimidation › Article 125 - Homicide and Related Offenses › 125.27 - Murder in the First Degree.

§ 125.27 Murder in the first degree.
A person is guilty of murder in the first degree when:
1.  With  intent  to  cause the death of another person, he causes the
death of such person or of a third person; and
(a) Either:
(i) the intended victim was a police officer as defined in subdivision
34 of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law who was at the time  of
the killing engaged in the course of performing his official duties, and
the  defendant  knew  or  reasonably should have known that the intended
victim was a police officer; or
(ii) the intended victim was a peace officer as defined in paragraph a
of subdivision  twenty-one,  subdivision  twenty-three,  twenty-four  or
sixty-two  (employees  of the division for youth) of section 2.10 of the
criminal procedure law who was at the time of the killing engaged in the
course of performing his official duties,  and  the  defendant  knew  or
reasonably  should  have  known  that  the  intended  victim  was such a
uniformed court officer, parole officer, probation officer, or  employee
of the division for youth; or
(ii-a)  the  intended  victim  was  a  firefighter,  emergency medical
technician, 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
(iii) the intended victim was an  employee  of  a  state  correctional
institution  or  was  an  employee  of  a local correctional facility as
defined in subdivision two of section forty of the correction  law,  who
was  at  the time of the killing engaged in the course of performing his
official duties, and the defendant knew or reasonably should have  known
that  the  intended  victim  was  an  employee  of  a state correctional
institution or a local correctional facility; or
(iv) at the time of the commission of the killing, the  defendant  was
confined in a state correctional institution or was otherwise in custody
upon  a  sentence  for  the term of his natural life, or upon a sentence
commuted to one of natural life, or upon a sentence for an indeterminate
term the minimum of which was at least fifteen years and the maximum  of
which was natural life, or at the time of the commission of the killing,
the defendant had escaped from such confinement or custody while serving
such  a  sentence  and  had not yet been returned to such confinement or
custody; or
(v) the intended victim was a witness to a crime committed on a  prior
occasion  and  the  death  was  caused for the purpose of preventing the
intended victim's testimony in any criminal action or proceeding whether
or not such action or proceeding had been  commenced,  or  the  intended
victim  had  previously testified in a criminal action or proceeding and
the killing was committed for the purpose of  exacting  retribution  for
such  prior  testimony,  or  the intended victim was an immediate family
member of a witness to a crime committed on a  prior  occasion  and  the
killing  was  committed for the purpose of preventing or influencing the
testimony of such witness, or  the  intended  victim  was  an  immediate
family  member  of  a witness who had previously testified in a criminal
action or proceeding and the killing was committed for  the  purpose  of
exacting retribution upon such witness for such prior testimony. As used
in  this  subparagraph  "immediate family member" means a husband, wife,
father, mother, daughter, son, brother, sister, stepparent, grandparent,
stepchild or grandchild; or
(vi) the defendant committed the killing or procured commission of the
killing pursuant to an agreement with a person other than  the  intended
victim  to  commit  the  same  for the receipt, or in expectation of the
receipt, of anything of pecuniary value from a party to the agreement or
from  a person other than the intended victim acting at the direction of
a party to such agreement; or
* (vii) the victim was killed while the defendant was in the course of
committing or attempting  to  commit  and  in  furtherance  of  robbery,
burglary  in  the first degree or second degree, kidnapping in the first
degree, arson in the first degree or second degree, rape  in  the  first
degree,  criminal  sexual  act  in the first degree, sexual abuse in the
first degree, aggravated sexual abuse in the first degree or  escape  in
the  first  degree,  or  in  the  course of and furtherance of immediate
flight after committing or attempting to commit any such crime or in the
course of and furtherance of immediate flight after attempting to commit
the crime of murder in the second degree; provided however,  the  victim
is  not  a participant in one of the aforementioned crimes and, provided
further that, unless  the  defendant's  criminal  liability  under  this
subparagraph is based upon the defendant having commanded another person
to  cause the death of the victim or intended victim pursuant to section
20.00 of this chapter, this  subparagraph  shall  not  apply  where  the
defendant's  criminal  liability  is  based  upon the conduct of another
pursuant to section 20.00 of this chapter; or
* NB Effective until September 1, 2024
* (vii) the victim was killed while the defendant was in the course of
committing or attempting  to  commit  and  in  furtherance  of  robbery,
burglary  in  the first degree or second degree, kidnapping in the first
degree, arson in the first degree or second degree, rape  in  the  first
degree, a crime formerly defined in section 130.50 of this title, sexual
abuse  in  the first degree, aggravated sexual abuse in the first degree
or escape in the first degree, or in the course of  and  furtherance  of
immediate flight after committing or attempting to commit any such crime
or in the course of and furtherance of immediate flight after attempting
to  commit  the  crime of murder in the second degree; provided however,
the victim is not a participant in one of the aforementioned crimes and,
provided further that, unless the defendant's criminal  liability  under
this  subparagraph  is based upon the defendant having commanded another
person to cause the death of the victim or intended victim  pursuant  to
section  20.00  of this chapter, this subparagraph shall not apply where
the defendant's criminal liability is based upon the conduct of  another
pursuant to section 20.00 of this chapter; or
* NB Effective September 1, 2024
(viii)  as  part of the same criminal transaction, the defendant, with
intent to cause serious physical injury to or the death of an additional
person or persons, causes the death of an additional person or  persons;
provided,  however,  the  victim  is  not  a participant in the criminal
transaction; or
(ix) prior to committing the killing, the defendant had been convicted
of murder as defined in this section or section 125.25 of this  article,
or  had  been  convicted in another jurisdiction of an offense which, if
committed in this state, would constitute a violation of either of  such
sections; or
(x)  the  defendant  acted  in  an  especially cruel and wanton manner
pursuant to a course of  conduct  intended  to  inflict  and  inflicting
torture  upon  the  victim  prior to the victim's death. As used in this
subparagraph, "torture" means the intentional and depraved infliction of
extreme physical pain;  "depraved"  means  the  defendant  relished  the
infliction   of   extreme  physical  pain  upon  the  victim  evidencing

debasement or perversion or that the  defendant  evidenced  a  sense  of
pleasure in the infliction of extreme physical pain; or
(xi)  the  defendant  intentionally  caused  the  death of two or more
additional persons within the state in  separate  criminal  transactions
within  a  period  of  twenty-four  months  when  committed in a similar
fashion or pursuant to a common scheme or plan; or
(xii) the intended victim  was  a  judge  as  defined  in  subdivision
twenty-three  of  section  1.20  of  the  criminal procedure law and the
defendant killed such victim because such victim was, at the time of the
killing, a judge; or
(xiii) the victim was killed in furtherance of an act of terrorism, as
defined in paragraph (b) of subdivision one of section  490.05  of  this
chapter; and
(b)  The defendant was more than eighteen years old at the time of the
commission of the crime.
2. In any prosecution under subdivision  one,  it  is  an  affirmative
defense that:
(a)  (i)  The defendant acted under the influence of extreme emotional
disturbance for which there was a reasonable explanation or excuse,  the
reasonableness  of  which  is  to  be determined from the viewpoint of a
person in the defendant's  situation  under  the  circumstances  as  the
defendant believed them to be. Nothing contained in this paragraph shall
constitute  a defense to a prosecution for, or preclude a conviction of,
manslaughter in the first degree or any other crime except murder in the
second degree. (ii) It shall not be a "reasonable explanation or excuse"
pursuant to subparagraph (i) of  this  paragraph  when  the  defendant's
conduct  resulted  from  the  discovery,  knowledge or disclosure of the
victim's  sexual  orientation,  sex,  gender,  gender  identity,  gender
expression or sex assigned at birth; or
(b)  The  defendant's  conduct consisted of causing or aiding, without
the use of duress  or  deception,  another  person  to  commit  suicide.
Nothing  contained  in  this  paragraph  shall constitute a defense to a
prosecution for, or preclude a conviction of, manslaughter in the second
degree or any other crime except murder in the second degree.
Murder in the first degree is a class A-I felony.