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Baby Maddox Lawrence of Syracuse in an undated photo. The 21-month old girl was killed Feb. 20, 2016. Her father, Ryan Lawrence, has been charged with murder.

(Provided photo)

ALBANY, N.Y. -- The state Senate on Tuesday passed a bill named after a Syracuse toddler killed earlier this year, legislation that would make murdering a child under 13 a first-degree murder.

Maddox's Law, a bill named after Maddox Lawrence, unanimously passed 61-0 in the Senate.

The legislation, which was sponsored by Sen. John DeFrancisco, R-Syracuse, now goes to the Assembly for its consideration.

Last year, a similar bill died in the Assembly without being voted upon.

Baby Maddox Lawrence, a 21-month-old girl, was killed Feb. 20. Her father, Ryan Lawrence, 24, has been charged with first-degree murder. Lawrence is accused of killing his daughter at Labrador Hollow, partially burning her body, and then dumping it in Syracuse's Inner Harbor, where police recovered the toddler's body on Feb. 23.

A judge ruled that Lawrence could be prosecuted on a first-degree murder charge under the prosecution's theory that he committed the murder during the course of a kidnapping.

Onondaga County Judge Anthony Aloi has scheduled Lawrence's trial to begin Oct. 31.

The bill approved by the Senate would establish a new offense of murder in the first degree when the intended victim was a child 12 years or younger with a maximum penalty of life without parole.

The penal law currently allows suspects to be charged with the more serious first-degree murder for the killing of a police officer, correctional facility employee, judge, firefighter, emergency medical technician, ambulance driver, paramedic, physician and registered nurse.

In the Assembly, Assemblywoman Pamela Hunter, D-Syracuse, is sponsoring Maddox's Law.

The Legislature is scheduled to break for the year on Thursday, June 16, so there is only two days left for the Assembly to vote on the bill.

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