Homicide Appeals & Murder Convictions in New York

A conviction for murder carries the harshest sentence of any crime in New York State. If you have been convicted of homicide, you need a criminal appeals lawyer who can guide you through the maze of Appellate Courts. This includes reviewing the record, finding legal issues, creating a legal strategy for an appeal, writing an effective appellate brief and successfully executing oral argument.

Stephen Preziosi is a criminal appeals lawyer who practices exclusively in the area of criminal appeals in both state and federal courts. He can successfully guide you through the process of an appeal, fight for your rights and successfully advocate on your behalf. Call the law firm that focuses on criminal appellate advocacy exclusively.

Below you can read the definition of Homicide in general and specifically Murder in the first-degree and Murder in the second-degree.

Penal Law 125.00 Homicide Defined

Homicide means conduct which causes the death of a person or an unborn child with which a female has been pregnant for more than twenty-four weeks under circumstances constituting murder, manslaughter in the first degree, manslaughter in the second degree, criminally negligent homicide, abortion in the first degree or self-abortion in the first degree.

Penal Law 125.27 Murder in the first-degree

Murder in the first-degree is an A-1 felony that carries life imprisonment without parole or a 20-25 year term in prison. It is defined as an unlawful killing that is both willful and premeditated, meaning that it was committed after planning or lying in wait for the victim.

Penal Law 125.25 Murder in the second-degree

Murder in the second-degree is an A-1 felony that carries a sentence of 15-25 year term in prison. It is defined as an intentional killing that is not premeditated or planned, nor committed in a reasonable heat of passion; or a killing caused by dangerous conduct and the offenders obvious lack or concern for human life.

Below you will find the statute discussing the various mental states of Culpability: Intentionally, Knowingly, Recklessly and Criminal Negligence.

Penal Law 15.05 Culpability Defined

Sufficiently responsible for criminal acts or negligence to be at fault and liable for the conduct. Sometimes culpability rests on whether the person realized the wrongful nature of his/her actions and thus should take the blame.

Penal Law 125.00 Homicide Defined

Homicide means conduct which causes the death of a person or an unborn child with which a female has been pregnant for more than twenty-four weeks under circumstances constituting murder, manslaughter in the first degree, manslaughter in the second degree, criminally negligent homicide, abortion in the first degree or self-abortion in the first degree.

Penal Law 15.05 Culpability; definitions of culpable mental states.

The following definitions are applicable to this chapter:

1. Intentionally. A person acts intentionally with respect to a result or to conduct described by a statute defining an offense when his conscious objective is to cause such result or to engage in such conduct.
2. Knowingly. A person acts knowingly with respect to conduct or to a circumstance described by a statute defining an offense when he is aware that his conduct is of such nature or that such circumstance exists.
3. Recklessly. A person acts recklessly with respect to a result or to a circumstance described by a statute defining an offense when he is aware of and consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that such result will occur or that such circumstance exists. The risk must be of such nature and degree that disregard thereof constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of conduct that a reasonable person would observe in the situation. A person who creates such a risk but is unaware thereof solely by reason of voluntary intoxication also acts recklessly with respect thereto.
4. Criminal Negligence. A person acts with criminal negligence with respect to a result or to a circumstance described by a statute defining an offense when he fails to perceive a substantial and unjustifiable risk that such result will occur or that such circumstance exists. The risk must be of such nature and degree that the failure to perceive it constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable person would observe in the situation.