New York (state)
Capital punishment was reintroduced in 1995 under the Pataki administration, but the statute was declared unconstitutional in 2004, when the New York Court of Appeals ruled in "People v. LaValle" that it violated the state constitution. The remaining death sentence was commuted by the court to life imprisonment in 2007, in "People v. John Taylor", and the death row was disestablished in 2008, under executive order from Governor Paterson. No execution has taken place in New York since 1963. Legislative efforts to amend the statute have failed, and death sentences are no longer sought at the state level, though certain crimes that fall under the jurisdiction of the federal government are subject to the federal death penalty.
Felony murder and the death penalty in the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States has held that the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution does not prohibit imposing the death penalty for felony murder. The Supreme Court has created a two-part test to determine when the death penalty is an appropriate punishment for felony murder. Under "Enmund v. Florida", the death penalty may not be imposed on someone who did not kill, attempt to kill, or intend that a killing take place. However, under "Tison v. Arizona", the death penalty "may" be imposed on someone who was a major participant in the underlying felony and acted with reckless indifference to human life.