NY · jury_instructions
CJI2d[NY] Penal Law art 125, Depraved Indifference Murder (PL § 125.25[4])and
Depraved Indifference Murder (PL § 125.25[4])and (Death of Child)
The trial court may be well advised to give the following instruction immediately after defining the crimes of depraved indifference murder of a child and manslaughter of a child.
Now, I will explain the difference between Murder (of a child) in the Second Degree and Manslaughter (of a child) in the First Degree.
Both crimes require that the defendant, being 18 years old or more, recklessly engaged in conduct which created a grave risk of serious physical injury to a person less than eleven years old and thereby caused the death of such person.
Murder (of a child) in the Second Degree, however, also requires that the defendant acted under circumstances evincing a depraved indifference to human life.²
Manslaughter (of a child) in the First Degree, on the other hand, does not require that the defendant also acted under circumstances evincing a depraved indifference to human life, but instead, requires that the defendant also acted with an intent to cause physical injury.
History
Caption: Depraved Indifference Murder (PL § 125.25[4])and Reckless Manslaughter (PL § 125.20[4]) Explained (Death of Child). Read from the committee's Word file. Prepared by the New York State Unified Court System Committee on Criminal Jury Instructions, Model Colloquies, and Evidence Rules; published by the Unified Court System at nycourts.gov (the internet edition is the only current and official publication of CJI2d).
Provenance
- Source
- nycourts.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-09-25
- Edition
- 2026-09-25
- Content hash
fd10e6d8b7f07793e589c0b45b0ae39c2cafff56260c1cdbbc08cc7dfbb23008
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