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The Death Penalty in Montana

How Montana law treats death penalty, from the state code and official state agencies.

Short answer: Montana has the death penalty in law. Deliberate homicide (purposely or knowingly killing someone, or a death caused during a forcible felony such as robbery, arson, burglary or kidnapping) may be punished by death, unless the offender was under 18, or by life imprisonment or 10 to 100… MCA §§ 45-5-102, 45-5-303(2), 46-18-301, 46-19-103(3)

Death penaltyMontana has the death penalty in law. Deliberate homicide (purposely or knowingly killing someone, or a death caused during a forcible felony such as robbery, arson, burglary or kidnapping) may be punished by death, unless the offender was under 18, or by life imprisonment or 10 to 100 years. Aggravated kidnapping may also be punished by death or life under the death-penalty procedures. The judge alone decides a death sentence at a separate hearing on aggravating and mitigating circumstances. The statute sets the method as a continuous intravenous injection of a lethal quantity of an ultra-fast-acting barbiturate combined with a chemical paralytic agent.
Read in the Montana Code Annotated 2025 (mca.legmt.gov). Hearing: https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0460/chapter_0180/part_0030/section_0010/0460-0180-0030-0010.html; method: https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0460/chapter_0190/part_0010/section_0030/0460-0190-0010-0030.html. No official page on the status of executions was checked.
Source: MCA §§ 45-5-102, 45-5-303(2), 46-18-301, 46-19-103(3)

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FAQ

Does Montana have the death penalty?
Montana has the death penalty in law. Deliberate homicide (purposely or knowingly killing someone, or a death caused during a forcible felony such as robbery, arson, burglary or kidnapping) may be punished by death, unless the offender was under 18, or by life imprisonment or 10 to 100 years. Aggravated kidnapping may also be punished by death or life under the death-penalty procedures. The judge alone decides a death sentence at a separate hearing on aggravating and mitigating circumstances. The statute sets the method as a continuous intravenous injection of a lethal quantity of an ultra-fast-acting barbiturate combined with a chemical paralytic agent.

General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.