{"id":374571,"date":"2016-03-31T21:35:49","date_gmt":"2016-04-01T02:35:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-law\/state\/montana-law\/montana-capital-punishment-laws.html"},"modified":"2024-10-02T10:04:27","modified_gmt":"2024-10-02T15:04:27","slug":"montana-capital-punishment-laws","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/state\/montana-law\/montana-capital-punishment-laws.html","title":{"rendered":"Montana Capital Punishment Laws"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Montana Capital Punishment Laws<\/h1>\n
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\n By Samuel Strom, J.D.<\/a> | Legally reviewed by FindLaw Staff<\/a>\n | Last updated\n
\n \n <\/i>\n Legally Reviewed\n <\/summary>\n\n
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This article has been written and reviewed for legal accuracy, clarity, and style by FindLaw\u2019s team of legal writers and attorneys<\/a> and in accordance with our editorial standards<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/details>\n\n

\n \n <\/i>\n Fact-Checked\n <\/summary>\n\n
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The last updated date refers to the last time this article was reviewed by FindLaw or one of our contributing authors<\/a>. We make every effort to keep our articles updated. For information regarding a specific legal issue affecting you, please contact an attorney in your area<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/details>\n<\/section>\n

Montana allows juries to impose capital punishment for some crimes. Capital punishment, commonly referred to as the "death penalty<\/a>," is for the most serious crimes<\/a>. Although there have been attempts to repeal the state’s death penalty laws, it remains a valid punishment in Montana.<\/p>\r\n

Montana Law and the Death Penalty<\/b><\/h2>\r\n

Montana only imposes the death penalty in cases where another person dies. For example, the murder of a law enforcement or court official is a capital offense.<\/p>\r\n

Montana capital punishment laws contain several exemptions to the death penalty based on the defendant’s status. For example, defendants ruled insane are typically exempt from a sentence of death. Also, those who suffer from "a severe mental disorder or disability that significantly impaired his or her capacity to appreciate the nature, consequences, or wrongfulness of his or her conduct" are exempt. The law also establishes a minimum age of 18 for executions.<\/p>\r\n

The following table offers a summary of Montana’s capital punishment laws. For more articles, see FindLaw’s Death Penalty<\/a> section.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Code section<\/th>\r\n

Montana Title 45 \u00a7 5-102<\/a> (deliberate homicide)<\/p>\r\n

Montana Title 46 \u00a7\u00a7 18-301<\/a> through 18-310<\/a> (sentencing hearing on the imposition of the death penalty)<\/p>\r\n

Montana Title 46 \u00a7 18-220<\/a> (crimes committed while in official detention)<\/p>\r\n

Montana Title 46 \u00a7\u00a7 19-101<\/a> through 19-103<\/a> (execution of death sentence)<\/p>\r\n

Montana Title 46 \u00a7 19-201<\/a> (when and how mental fitness of defendant determined)<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>

Is capital punishment allowed?<\/th>\r\nYes. Capital murder with one of nine aggravating circumstances (Montana Title 46 \u00a7 18-303<\/a>); aggravated kidnapping; felony murder; aggravated sexual intercourse without consent (Montana Title 45 \u00a7 5-503<\/a>).<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>
Clemency process<\/th>\r\nThe governor may receive a non-binding recommendation of clemency from a board or advisory group.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>
How is the sentence determined?<\/th>\r\n

Per Montana Title 46 \u00a7 18-302<\/a>, the judge will hold a sentencing hearing if the defendant gets convicted or pleads guilty to a crime that may impose the death penalty. During the sentencing hearing, the parties may introduce evidence of the following:<\/p>\r\n

Available for crimes other than homicide?<\/th>\r\n

Yes. Juries may also impose the death penalty for the following crimes:<\/p>\r\n

    \r\n
  • Aggravated sexual intercourse without consent<\/li>\r\n
  • Attempted deliberate homicide while in official detention<\/li>\r\n
  • Aggravated assault while in official detention<\/li>\r\n
  • Aggravated kidnapping while in official detention<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>
Method<\/th>\r\nLethal injection<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>
Is life without possibility of parole an option?<\/th>\r\nYes<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>
Minimum age<\/th>\r\n18<\/td>\r\n<\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\r\n

Note: State laws are constantly changing \u2014 contact a <\/i>Montana criminal defense attorney<\/i><\/a> or conduct your own legal research to verify the state law(s) you are researching.<\/i><\/p>\r\n

Methods of Execution<\/b><\/h2>\r\n

Before 1995, hanging and lethal gas were the state’s methods of execution, according to the Death Penalty Information Center<\/a>. In 1995, the state of Montana made lethal injection its sole method of execution.<\/p>\r\n

In 2012, a Montana district court judge struck down the state’s lethal injection protocol. The protocol at that time was a combination of three drugs. Judge Jeffrey Sherlock struck down the protocol because it differed from the state’s two-drug protocol<\/a>. Three years later, Sherlock ruled the Montana Department of Corrections could not use the drug pentobarbital until the state legislature modified the applicable law.<\/p>\r\n

In 2021, Montana lawmakers proposed a bill to broaden the types of lethal injection drugs used in executions<\/a>. The bill proposed to remove the rule to use ultra-fast-acting barbiturates for executions.<\/p>\r\n

Montana executed David Thomas Dawson in 2006. Dawson’s is the last execution Montana has performed.<\/p>\r\n

Montana’s Death Penalty And Clemency<\/b><\/h2>\r\n

After receiving an execution date, the defendant may seek clemency from the governor. If the governor declines to grant clemency, the state will execute the defendant via lethal injection.<\/p>\r\n

As the Death Penalty Information Center<\/a> notes, Montana Gov. Ted Schwinden granted clemency to a man on death row in 1988. David Cameron Keith was on death row after a murder conviction. Schwinden pardoned Keith because he was partially paralyzed and blind, he was remorseful, he had embraced religion, and there was evidence he shot the victim as a reflexive action.<\/p>\r\n

Montana Capital Punishment Laws: Related Resources<\/b><\/h2>\r\n

Browse the following links for more information about the death penalty and Montana law.<\/p>\r\n