The People of the State of New York v. Louis Oliver

Summary

The New York Court of Appeals reversed the murder conviction and dismissed the indictment, holding that the 1948 amendment to section 486 of the Penal Law applies retroactively to prohibit prosecution of a child who was 14 at the time of the homicide. The Court reasoned that the amendment was an ameliorative statute reflecting legislative intent to treat such offenders as delinquents, not criminals, and therefore its more benign provisions extend to pending prosecutions.