The death penalty—also known as capital punishment—refers to the process of state and federal courts sentencing persons convicted of the most serious criminal offenses (capital offenses or capital crimes) to death. The specific crimes and circumstances for which the death penalty is a potential punishment (usually murder) are defined by state and federal statutes enacted by state legislatures and the United States Congress, respectively.

These death penalty or capital punishment statutes are often located in the penal or criminal code, and often in the same statute that defines a criminal offense such as murder. Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia do not have the death penalty as a potential punishment for any criminal offense.

In Montana (MT), the death penalty is a legal form of punishment for certain capital offenses. The state's statutes specify that capital punishment can be applied in cases of deliberate homicide if accompanied by certain aggravating circumstances, as outlined in Montana Code Annotated (MCA) 46-18-303. These aggravating factors include circumstances such as the murder being committed by a person serving a life sentence, for hire, or during the commission of another felony, among others. Montana's method of execution is lethal injection, as per MCA 46-19-103. However, it's important to note that the application of the death penalty is subject to ongoing legal challenges and public debate, and the status of capital punishment can evolve with changes in legislation or court rulings. As of the knowledge cutoff in 2023, Montana is one of the states that still retains the death penalty, unlike the twenty-two states and the District of Columbia, which have abolished it.