Montana Code Annotated

Mont. Code Ann. § 46-18-219 (2026)

Life Sentence Without Possibility Of Release

✓ current as of May 2026

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TITLE 46. CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

CHAPTER 18. SENTENCE AND JUDGMENT

Part 2. Form of Sentence

Life Sentence Without Possibility Of Release

46-18-219. Life sentence without possibility of release. (1) (a) Except as provided in subsection (3), if an offender convicted of one of the following offenses was previously convicted of one of the following offenses or of an offense under the laws of another state or of the United States that, if committed in this state, would be one of the following offenses, the offender must be sentenced to life in prison, unless the death penalty is applicable and imposed:

(i) 45-5-102, deliberate homicide;

(ii) 45-5-303, aggravated kidnapping;

(iii) 45-5-625, sexual abuse of children;

(iv) 45-5-627, except subsection (1)(b), ritual abuse of a minor; or

(v) 45-5-508, aggravated sexual intercourse without consent.

(b) Except as provided in subsection (3), if an offender convicted of one of the following offenses was previously convicted of two of the following offenses, two of any combination of the offenses listed in subsection (1)(a) or the following offenses, or two of any offenses under the laws of another state or of the United States that, if committed in this state, would be one of the offenses listed in subsection (1)(a) or this subsection, the offender must be sentenced to life in prison, unless the death penalty is applicable and imposed:

(i) 45-5-103, mitigated deliberate homicide;

(ii) 45-5-202, aggravated assault;

(iii) 45-5-215, strangulation of a partner or family member;

(iv) 45-5-302, kidnapping;

(v) 45-5-401, robbery; or

(vi) 45-5-711, child sex trafficking.

(2) Except as provided in 46-23-210 and subsection (3) of this section, an offender sentenced under subsection (1):

(a) shall serve the entire sentence;

(b) shall serve the sentence in prison;

(c) may not for any reason, except a medical reason, be transferred for any length of time to another type of institution, facility, or program;

(d) may not be paroled; and

(e) may not be given time off for good behavior or otherwise be given an early release for any reason.

(3) If the offender was previously sentenced for either of two or three offenses listed in subsection (1), pursuant to any of the exceptions listed in 46-18-222, then the provisions of subsections (1) and (2) of this section do not apply to the offender's present sentence.

(4) The imposition or execution of the sentences prescribed by this section may not be deferred or suspended. In the event of a conflict between this section and any provision of 46-18-201 or 46-18-205, this section prevails.

(5) (a) For purposes of this section, "prison" means a secure detention facility in which inmates are locked up 24 hours a day and that is operated by this state, another state, the federal government, or a private contractor.

(b) Prison does not include a work release center, prerelease center, boot camp, or any other type of facility that does not provide secure detention.

History: En. Sec. 1, Ch. 482, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 20, Ch. 482, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 6, Ch. 52, L. 1999; amd. Sec. 17, Ch. 432, L. 1999; amd. Sec. 6, Ch. 312, L. 2001; amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 279, L. 2017; amd. Sec. 13, Ch. 394, L. 2017; amd. Sec. 12, Ch. 308, L. 2019; amd. Sec. 29, Ch. 167, L. 2023.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 11 cases, 2002–2020 · leading case: State v. Webb, 2005 MT 5 (Mont. 2005).

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State v. Webb, 2005 MT 5 (Mont. 2005). · cites it 56× “Webb was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole pursuant to § 46-18-219, MCA. He appeals his sentence.”

State v. Garrymore, 2006 MT 245 (Mont. 2006). · cites it 12× “Because the State did not seek the death penalty, and since neither § 46-18-219, MCA, nor § 46-18-222, MCA, is applicable to Garrymore's case, the maximum sentence which could have been imposed upon Garrymore pursuant to the language of the statute was "life imprisonment.”

State v. Covington, 2012 MT 31 (Mont. 2012). · cites it 21× “The District Court noted at sentencing that Covington previously had been convicted of robbery in 1981 and 2009. The District Court further noted that § 46-18-219, MCA, requires generally that a person being sentenced for certain violent felonies, and who has two previous…”

State v. Thorp, 2010 MT 92 (Mont. 2010). · cites it 10× “Thorp's sentence falls within the statutory guidelines set forth in § 45-5-503(3)(c)(ii), MCA. We also decline to recognize an exception to the general rule regarding legal sentences.”

State v. Moretti, 446 P.3d 609 (Wash. 2019). · cites it 2× “§ 99-19-83 ), Montana( Mont. Code Ann. § 46-18-219 ), North Carolina(N.”

State v. Holt, 2011 MT 42 (Mont. 2011). · cites it 4× “[4] Subsection (2) states that persons under sentence of death, persons who have been placed by the Department of Corrections in prison temporarily for assessment or sanctioning, persons serving a sentence under § 46-18-219, MCA (life imprisonment without possibility of…”

State v. Witherspoon, 329 P.3d 888 (Wash. 2014). “In one state, third strike offenders receive mandatory life sentences in most cases but not where (as in Witherspoon’s case) injury or threat of injury is an element of the third strike offense but no injury to the victim actually occurs.”

David Michael Norgaard, 2014 WY 157 (Wyo. 2014). “Mont.Code Ann. § 46-18-219. In State v. Webb, 325 Mont.”

State v. Flores, 56 P.3d 622 (Wash. Ct. App. 2002). “§ 31-18-25 (B) (Lexis 2002) (second offense of violent sexual offense, when victim is under 13 years old, leads to life sentence without parole); Mont. Code Ann. § 46-18-219 (l)(a) (2001) (second offense of sexual abuse of children leads to life sentence).”

Meredith v. Guyer (Mont. 2020). · cites it 2× “Statutory authority exists, pursuant to § 46-18-219(1)(a)(i), MCA, for a district court to impose a life sentence without the possibility of release for a conviction of deliberate homicide.”

State Of Washington, / Cross- App. v. Jeffrey Michael Kinzle, / Cross-res. (Wash. Ct. App. 2013). “§ 31-18-25 (1997) (mandating life in prison for a second conviction of criminal sexual penetration and not allowing parole if the victim of each offense is under 13); Mont. Code Ann. § 46-18-219 (1)(a) (2001) (mandating the death penalty or life imprisonment without the…”

— Mont. Code Ann. § 46-18-219(1) — 1 case

State v. Webb, 2005 MT 5 (Mont. 2005). “Webb was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole pursuant to § 46-18-219, MCA. He appeals his sentence.”

— Mont. Code Ann. § 46-18-219(1)(a)(i) — 1 case

Meredith v. Guyer (Mont. 2020). “Statutory authority exists, pursuant to § 46-18-219(1)(a)(i), MCA, for a district court to impose a life sentence without the possibility of release for a conviction of deliberate homicide.”

— Mont. Code Ann. § 46-18-219(1)(b)(iv) — 1 case

State v. Covington, 2012 MT 31 (Mont. 2012). “The District Court noted at sentencing that Covington previously had been convicted of robbery in 1981 and 2009. The District Court further noted that § 46-18-219, MCA, requires generally that a person being sentenced for certain violent felonies, and who has two previous…”

— Mont. Code Ann. § 46-18-219(l)(a)(iv) — 1 case

State v. Webb, 2005 MT 5 (Mont. 2005). “Webb was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole pursuant to § 46-18-219, MCA. He appeals his sentence.”

— Mont. Code Ann. § 46-18-219(l)(b)(iv) — 1 case

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