Michigan Capital Punishment Laws

Less than half of all states still use capital punishment (death penalty) as a sentence for especially heinous crimes, typically first-degree murder. Michigan is not one of those states. That doesn't mean Michigan lawmakers never imposed the death penalty. But Michigan's state legislature abolished the death penalty in 1846 and was the first state to do so. They were one of the first jurisdictions in the English-speaking world to do so.

The last execution that took place in the State of Michigan was a federal execution of Tony Chebatoris for a murder that happened during a bank robbery in 1938.

Here, we'll briefly discuss the current state of the death penalty in the United States and the history of capital punishment in Michigan. We will also describe how Michigan law punishes offenders who commit what other states consider capital crimes.

You can learn more about capital punishment, the death penalty, and sentencing for violent crimes in FindLaw's Death Penalty section.

State of the Death Penalty in the United States

Americans disagree on whether the U.S. should still use the death penalty. Many people fear that the courts could sentence an innocent person to death row. There have been hundreds of cases over the years where a deathbed confession or DNA testing leads to the release of a death-row prisoner.

According to the Death Penalty Information Center, about 60% of all Americans support the death penalty. The U.S. Supreme Court has also said that the death penalty does not violate the cruel and unusual punishment clause of the Eighth Amendment.

As stated above, only 21 states impose a death sentence for heinous and seriously violent crimes. These states include, among others, Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, and California. Lawmakers in some pro-death penalty states have placed moratoriums on executions.

These moratoriums are due to various factors, including petition drives, referendums, and other civic movements. Other states, such as New York and Alaska, outlawed capital punishment years ago.

Aside from the crime of treason, most jurisdictions reserve the death penalty for cases involving murder. Some states also apply capital punishment to cases where a person dies during the commission of another felony.

In California, for example, if someone dies during the commission of specific crimes, the state may impose the death penalty. California law, like the law in other states supporting capital punishment for felony murder cases, lists the specific crimes that are subject to a death sentence.

These crimes typically include the following:

• Rape
• Burglary
• Robbery
• Arson
• Kidnapping

Other states, such as Texas, require the prosecutor to prove that the defendant committed a severely dangerous crime, knowing that innocent people may die.

Michigan's History of Capital Punishment

Before 1846, Michigan imposed the death penalty like most other U.S. states. But the Michigan legislature banned the practice in 1846. In fact, according to the Michigan Bar Journal, the Michigan Constitution is the only state constitution that bans capital punishment.

By the time the Supreme Court ruled the death penalty unconstitutional in Furman v. Georgia in 1972. Michigan had long abandoned the practice. When other states decided to reinstate the death penalty in the years after Furman, Michigan chose to stand firm on its opposition to capital punishment.

Michigan Death Penalty Laws at a Glance

Note: State laws are constantly changing. Contact a Michigan criminal defense attorney or conduct legal research to verify your state laws.

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Michigan Capital Punishment Laws: Related Resources

• First-Degree Murder Overview
• History of Death Penalty Laws