125.26 - Aggravated murder.

§ 125.26 Aggravated murder.    A person is guilty of aggravated murder when:    1.  With intent to cause the death of another person, he or she causes  the death of such person,  or  of  a  third  person  who  was  a  person  described  in  subparagraph  (i), (ii) or (iii) of paragraph (a) of this  subdivision engaged at  the  time  of  the  killing  in  the  course  of  performing his or her official duties; and    (a) Either:    (i) the intended victim was a police officer as defined in subdivision  thirty-four of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law who was at the  time  of  the  killing  engaged  in  the course of performing his or her  official duties, and the defendant knew or reasonably should have  known  that the 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 or her official duties, and the defendant knew  or reasonably should have known that the victim  was  such  a  uniformed  court  officer,  parole  officer,  probation officer, or employee of the  division for youth; 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  or her official duties, and the defendant knew or reasonably should have  known  that  the  victim  was  an  employee  of  a  state   correctional  institution or a local correctional facility; and    (b)  The defendant was more than eighteen years old at the time of the  commission of the crime; or    2. (a) With intent to cause the death of a person less  than  fourteen  years  old, he or she causes the death of such person, and 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 subdivision, "torture" means the  intentional and depraved infliction of extreme  physical  pain  that  is  separate  and  apart  from  the  pain  which  otherwise  would have been  associated with such cause of death; and    (b) The defendant was more than eighteen years old at the time of  the  commission of the crime.    3. In any prosecution under subdivision one or two of this section, it  is an affirmative defense that:    (a)  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,  aggravated manslaughter in the first degree, manslaughter in  the  first  degree or any other crime except murder in the second degree; 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, aggravated manslaughter in  the second degree, manslaughter in the second degree or any other  crime  except murder in the second degree.    Aggravated murder is a class A-I felony.