How Many Years Can You Get for First-Degree Manslaughter in New York?

Seven selected agency reports describe imposed prison terms of 14, 18, 21, 21½, 22, 23 and 25 years after first-degree-manslaughter pleas. Six explicitly add five years of post-release supervision; Johnson’s release does not specify that period. These are separate reported outcomes, not an observed citywide range, average or prediction. In particular, Flake’s report gives a Queens last-seen location and later discovery site, not a verified point of the killing, so it does not establish a qualifying city homicide location.

Quick Answer

• Named records: 7 reported dispositions, not 7 fully qualified completed city cases
• Prison outcomes: Johnson 14; Freeman 18; Perez 21; Scott 21½; Flake 22; Hunter 23; Weekes 25 years
• Separate supervision: 5 years for Freeman, Perez, Scott, Flake, Hunter and Weekes; Johnson’s period not specified in the cited release
• City-evidence limit: Flake’s last-seen and discovery sites are not substituted for the fatal-act point
• Classification: Class B violent felony; no numerical observed range asserted

See the New York hub, compare second-degree murder outcomes, and review our methodology.

What Is First-Degree Manslaughter?

New York Penal Law §125.20 defines several forms of first-degree manslaughter, including causing death while intending serious physical injury and causing death under certain extreme-emotional-disturbance circumstances. The precise subsection matters. The offense is a class B violent felony.

Statutory Sentence

For a first-time violent felony offender, Penal Law §70.02 generally provides a determinate prison term of 5 to 25 years for a class B violent felony, plus post-release supervision. Prior convictions and other rules may change that range. The current section 70.02 page labels a future September 2027 version separately; it is not applied now or automatically to older judgments. Current statutory exposure is distinct from these reported imposed outcomes and does not certify each historical sentencing route.

Observed Case Outcomes

Case Details

Korey Johnson: The March 5, 2024 release reports that day’s 14-year sentence after a February 9 first-degree-manslaughter plea. It describes the September 3, 2019 vehicle pursuit and fatal collision on Broadway in Bushwick, beginning near Ellery Street; Ocean Hill residence and the hospital are not substituted for the collision point. A post-release-supervision duration is not specified in this release.

William Freeman: The June 11, 2026 release reports that day’s 18 years in prison plus five years’ supervision after a March 10 plea. It places the October 24, 2020 fatal shooting at the Eldert Street stoop in Bushwick, not his Gravesend residence or the later Knickerbocker Avenue arrest.

Nasir Perez: The May 21, 2024 release reports that day’s 21 years plus five years’ supervision after a March 28 first-degree-manslaughter plea. The October 28, 2020 event is described at East 26th Street/Foster Avenue in East Flatbush, not his Midwood residence. Two injured people in one incident do not create two independent completed manslaughter prosecutions or two separately allocated 21-year terms.

Dwayne Scott: The May 14, 2026 release reports the previous day’s 21½-year sentence plus five years’ supervision after an April 9 plea. The September 24, 2021 shooting was near 102nd Road/84th Street; Buffalo residence and apprehension are not offense-city evidence.

Kareem Flake: The September 28, 2023 release reports that day’s 22 years plus five years’ supervision after a July first-degree-manslaughter plea. It describes a November 3, 2020 last-seen location in Woodside and a March 10, 2021 discovery in Springfield Gardens, but does not establish that either is where the fatal act occurred. Troy residence, Florida arrest and a Queens court are not substituted for that missing point. The sentence remains a reported outcome with city qualification unverified, not an eligible range endpoint.

Gifford Hunter: The February 13, 2020 release reports that day’s 23 years plus five years’ supervision after a December 2019 plea. The September 14, 2018 shooting was at 103rd Avenue/120th Street in South Richmond Hill, distinct from St. Albans residence.

Darrien Weekes: The August 15, 2024 release reports that day’s 25 years plus five years’ supervision after an April 17 plea. The June 1, 2019 shooting is described in front of 519 Chauncey Street in Bedford-Stuyvesant, not his Bushwick residence. Kinard’s separately reported third-degree-hindering conditional discharge is not an additional first-degree-manslaughter prison outcome or an independent new prosecution.

Why Sentences Differ

The reports describe different events but do not establish why a court chose one term rather than another. Imposed prison years and separately imposed supervision are kept distinct; neither establishes actual time served or a release date. Charges, victims, co-defendants and arrests are not additional independent completed target-offense clusters.

Methodology

Relevant official sentencing paragraphs and incident passages for all seven named reports were read September 28, 2026 UTC (September 29 in Istanbul). Focused name/court searches did not establish a matched later merits decision; this is not an exhaustive docket clearance. Independent municipal-point verification, precise historical subsection/sentencing routes and later-outcome qualification remain incomplete, particularly Flake’s fatal-act location. Numerical range eligibility is separate from the use of an agency-reported sentence as context. No observed minimum/maximum is asserted.

Sources

• Penal Law §125.20
• Penal Law §70.02

Disclaimer

General information only, not legal advice. Sentencing depends on the conviction and individual record.