Murder 2nd
Manslaughter 1st
Any offense as defined in Article 130 of the Penal Law
An attempt to commit any of these offenses
In New York State, All incarcerated individuals, except those serving Life sentences, have a conditional release date equal to either one-third (1/3) off their maximum sentence for indeterminate sentences and one-seventh (1/7) off their maximum sentence for determinate sentences.
When I started working at Auburn Prison (Max) in 1980, there were lifers there. We also had one inmate who still had an "H" in his ID number, which meant he'd originally been sentenced to death. At some point, some of those inmates were re-evaluated by the department. I ran into one of those lifers at the medium security prison I eventually transferred to, and finished off my career at.
California also has a three strikes law. Commit three violent felonies and you go away for life.