New York Consolidated Laws

N.Y. Penal Law § 70.00 (2026)

Sentence of imprisonment for felony

✓ current as of May 2026

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§ 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

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 777 cases (113 in the last 5 years), 1971–2026 · leading case: People v. Taylor, 878 N.E.2d 969 (NY 2007).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

People v. Taylor, 878 N.E.2d 969 (NY 2007). · cites it 4× “26 [1] [a] [iii]), which automatically results in a sentence of life without parole (Penal Law § 70.00 [3] [a] [i]; §§ 60.06, 70.”

People v. Rivera, 833 N.E.2d 194 (NY 2005). · cites it 4× “06), which carries a maximum sentence of four years imprisonment (Penal Law § 70.00 [2] [e]). The People moved for a persistent felony offender sentence, so as to treat defendant's class E conviction as a class A-I felony (Penal Law § 70.”

People v. Sparber, 889 N.E.2d 459 (NY 2008). · cites it 3× “As a consequence of his plea and status as a second violent felon, Penal Law § 70.00 (6) and § 70.45 (1) and (2) required defendant to serve a mandatory five-year PRS term.”

Besser v. Walsh Phillips v. Artus Portalatin v. Graham Morris v. Artus, 601 F.3d 163 (2d Cir. 2010). · cites it 8× “See N.Y. Penal Law § 70.00 . 2 Second felony offenders are subject to enhanced sentences, based solely upon the finding of one qualifying prior felony conviction, again aceord *170 ing to the class of offense.”

People v. Thompson, 633 N.E.2d 1074 (NY 1994). · cites it 6× “Conviction of a class A-I felony carries a mandatory indeterminate prison sentence, the minimum of which is not less than 15 years and not more than 25 years, the maximum of which is life imprisonment (Penal Law § 70.00 [2] [a]; [3] [a] [i]). The trial court, however, determined…”

People v. Mower, 765 N.E.2d 839 (NY 2002). · cites it 3× “30 (3) (b) (vii) in Hynes effectively eliminated any statutory authorization for a sentence of life imprisonment without parole upon a plea to murder in the first degree, defendant contends he is entitled to be resentenced to an indeterminate prison term of 20-to-25 years to…”

New York v. Ferber, 458 U.S. 747 (1982). · cites it 2× “N. Y. Penal Law §§ 70.00, 80.10 (McKinney 1975).”

Rummel v. Estelle, 445 U.S. 263 (1980). · cites it 2× “1963) (fine or 2 to 10 years); N. Y. Penal Law §§ 70.00 (2) (d), 170.10, 170.”

United States v. Ramos, 979 F.3d 994 (2d Cir. 2020). · cites it 3× “Although the sentence for a class C felony such as second-degree manslaughter typically cannot exceed 15 years’ imprisonment, N.Y. PENAL LAW § 70.00 (2)(c); see also People v.”

State of Iowa v. Damion John Seats, 865 N.W.2d 545 (Iowa 2015). · cites it 2× “) (stating a person under eighteen years convicted of a Class 1A felony shall be sentenced to between forty years’ and life imprisonment and allowing the defendant to submit mitigating factors to the court at sentencing); N.Y. Penal Law § 70.00 (McKinney, Westlaw through L.”

Vincent Hunter v. Walter T. Fogg, Superintendent of E. Corr. Facility, 616 F.2d 55 (2d Cir. 1980). · cites it 4× “” N.Y.Penal Law § 70.00 (McKinney Supp.1978).”

Joseph Bellavia v. Walter Fogg, Warden, Green Haven Corr. Facility, Stormville, New York, 613 F.2d 369 (2d Cir. 1979). · cites it 5× “We turn next to Bellavia’s claim that the mandatory net sentence of fifteen years to life imposed on him pursuant to N.Y. Penal Law §§ 70.00 (2)(a) and 3(a) (McKinney 1975) constitutes cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment.”

Show all 777 citing cases →

— N.Y. Penal Law § 70.00(1) — 2 cases

Carmona v. Ward, 436 F. Supp. 1153 (S.D.N.Y. 1977).

Johnson v. State, 740 S.W.2d 868 (Tex. App. 1987).

— N.Y. Penal Law § 70.00(2) — 4 cases

MacKenzie v. Portuondo, 208 F. Supp. 2d 302 (E.D.N.Y 2002).

Zigman v. Giacobbe, 944 F. Supp. 147 (E.D.N.Y 1996).

Sero v. Oswald, 351 F. Supp. 522 (S.D.N.Y. 1972).

Bakis v. Levitin, 2004 NY Slip Op 50542(U) (N.Y. Sup. Ct., Nassau Cty. 2004).

— N.Y. Penal Law § 70.00(2)(a) — 5 cases

Charris v. Artuz, 32 F. Supp. 2d 139 (S.D.N.Y. 1998).

McCool v. New York State, 29 F. Supp. 2d 151 (W.D.N.Y. 1998).

Green v. Scully, 675 F. Supp. 67 (E.D.N.Y 1987).

Unknown.

Davis v. Johnson, 49 F. Supp. 2d 160 (W.D.N.Y. 1999).

— N.Y. Penal Law § 70.00(2)(b) — 3 cases

United States v. Benjamin Ruggiero, Nicholas Santora, Anthony Rabito, & Antonio Tomasulo, 726 F.2d 913 (2d Cir. 1984).

Carmona v. Ward, 436 F. Supp. 1153 (S.D.N.Y. 1977).

Stephens v. Costello, 55 F. Supp. 2d 163 (W.D.N.Y. 1999).

— N.Y. Penal Law § 70.00(2)(c) — 1 case

Gunn v. Kuhlman, 479 F. Supp. 338 (S.D.N.Y. 1979).

— N.Y. Penal Law § 70.00(2)(d) — 1 case

Jean-Laurent v. Hennessy, 840 F. Supp. 2d 529 (E.D.N.Y 2011).

— N.Y. Penal Law § 70.00(2)(e) — 2 cases

Barney v. Conway, 730 F. Supp. 2d 264 (W.D.N.Y. 2010).

Lopez v. Reynolds, 998 F. Supp. 252 (W.D.N.Y. 1997).

— N.Y. Penal Law § 70.00(3) — 2 cases

Gordon v. Watley, 624 F. Supp. 1138 (S.D.N.Y. 1986).

Davis v. Johnson, 49 F. Supp. 2d 160 (W.D.N.Y. 1999).

— N.Y. Penal Law § 70.00(3)(a)(i) — 1 case

Gaiter v. Lord, 917 F. Supp. 145 (E.D.N.Y 1996).

— N.Y. Penal Law § 70.00(3)(b) — 1 case

Gordon v. Watley, 624 F. Supp. 1138 (S.D.N.Y. 1986).

— N.Y. Penal Law § 70.00(3)(c) — 1 case

Gordon v. Watley, 624 F. Supp. 1138 (S.D.N.Y. 1986).

— N.Y. Penal Law § 70.00(4) — 2 cases

People v. Janvier, 2020 NY Slip Op 04861 (N.Y. App. Div. 2020).

People v. Ferguson, 2019 NY Slip Op 8424 (N.Y. App. Div. 2019).

— N.Y. Penal Law § 70.00(6) — 1 case

Smith v. Annucci (W.D.N.Y. 2022).

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.