Table of Contents TITLE 45. CRIMES CHAPTER 5. OFFENSES AGAINST THE PERSON Part 1. Homicide
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82 45-5-102 16 45-5-103 17 45-5-104 1 45-5-105 8 45-5-106 45-5-111 45-5-112

Mont. Code Ann. § 45-5-102

(2005)

Deliberate homicide

(1) A person commits the offense of deliberate homicide if:

(a) the person purposely or knowingly causes the death of another human being; or

(b) the person attempts to commit, commits, or is legally accountable for the attempt or commission of robbery, sexual intercourse without consent, arson, burglary, kidnapping, aggravated kidnapping, felonious escape, assault with a weapon, aggravated assault, or any other forcible felony and in the course of the forcible felony or flight thereafter, the person or any person legally accountable for the crime causes the death of another human being.

(2) A person convicted of the offense of deliberate homicide shall be punished by death as provided in 46-18-301 through 46-18-310, unless the person is less than 18 years of age at the time of the commission of the offense, by life imprisonment, or by imprisonment in the state prison for a term of not less than 10 years or more than 100 years, except as provided in 46-18-219 and 46-18-222.

Opinions construing this section

82 opinions
2026 MT 187 Aug 11, 2026 Affirmed
State v. J. Burghduff
Majority by Jim Rice · 4 to 0
. ¶1 Jake Kenneth Lee Burghduff (Burghduff) was charged by Information in the Seventh Judicial District Court, Prairie County, with Deliberate Homicide under § 45-5-102(1)(b), MCA, commonly known as the “felony murder rule.” The State alternatively alleged Burghduff was “legally accountable for the commission of the offense of aggr
2025 MT 281 Dec 9, 2025 Affirmed
State v. A. Smith
Majority by Cory J. Swanson · 7 to 0
arged crime, including a mental state of “purposely or knowingly.” Compare § 45-5-103(1), MCA (requiring a “purposely or knowingly” mental state) with § 45-5-102(1)(a), MCA (requiring a “purposely or knowingly” mental state). To concede the defendant acted “purposely or knowingly” is to concede he did not act “negligentl
2025 MT 200 Sep 9, 2025 Affirmed in part, reversed in part
State v. Arvidson
Majority by Jim Rice · 4 to 3
y Count 3. However, the written judgment stated the sentence as follows: COUNT I: ATTEMPT (Deliberate Homicide), a felony, in violation of Sections 45-4-103 and 45-5-102(1)(a), MCA, the Defendant is sentenced to the Montana State Prison for a period of 40 years. COUNT II: CRIMINAL ENDANGERMENT, a felony, in violation of Section 45-5-207,
2025 MT 163 Jul 29, 2025 Petition for writ of supervisory control - other with opinion
D. Wood v. 20th Jud. District Court
Majority by Ingrid Gustafson · 5 to 0
y during Wood’s first trial. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND ¶3 The State charged Wood by Amended Information with deliberate homicide, in violation of § 45-5-102(1)(a), MCA. The Amended Information was premised on two alternative theories of guilt—direct liability or accountability—and alleged Wood “committed the offense of
2025 MT 120 Jun 9, 2025 Affirmed
Planned Parenthood v. State
Dissenting by Jim Rice · 6 to 1
te to assert a compelling interest to protect it does not exist in other areas of Montana law, including code provisions governing negligence and homicide. See § 45-5-102(1)(c), MCA (“A person commits the offense of deliberate homicide if . . . the person purposely or knowingly causes the death of a fetus of another with knowledge that t
Official Annotations archive.org, 2005 edition
History:
En. by Sec. 1, Ch. 513, L. 1973
Amd. Sec. 11, Ch. 338, L. 1977
Amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 584, L. 1977
R.C.M. 1947,
Amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 322, L. 1979
Amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 322, L. 1987
Amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 610, L. 1987
Amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 482, L. 1995
Amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 432, L. 1999 (HB 203 - Shockley, Jim (R) HD 61)
Amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 523, L. 1999 (HB 374 - Hurdle, Joan (D) HD 13)
Source text on leg.mt.gov