List of people executed in Montana

The following is a list of people executed by the U.S. state of Montana since capital punishment was resumed in 1976.

A total of 3 people convicted of murder have been executed since the Gregg v. Georgia decision. They were all executed by lethal injection. Terry Langford and David Dawson waived their appeals and asked that their executions be carried out. ^[1]

No.	Name	Race	Age	Sex	Date of execution	County	Method	Victim(s)	Governor
1	Duncan Peder McKenzie Jr.	White	43	M	May 10, 1995	Pondera	Lethal injection	Lana Harding	Marc Racicot
2	Terry Allen Langford	White	31	M	February 24, 1998	Powell		Ned Blackwood and Celene Blackwood
3	David Thomas Dawson	White	48	M	August 11, 2006	Yellowstone		David Rodstein, Monica Rodstein, and Andrew Rodstein	Brian Schweitzer

Demographics

Race
White	3	100%
Age
30–39	1	33%
40–49	2	67%
Sex
Male	3	100%
Date of execution
1976–1979	0	0%
1980–1989	0	0%
1990–1999	2	67%
2000–2009	1	33%
2010–2019	0	0%
2020–2029	0	0%
Method
Lethal injection	3	100%
Governor (Party)
Thomas Lee Judge (D)	0	0%
Ted Schwinden (D)	0	0%
Stan Stephens (R)	0	0%
Marc Racicot (R)	2	67%
Judy Martz (R)	0	0%
Brian Schweitzer (D)	1	33%
Steve Bullock (D)	0	0%
Greg Gianforte (R)	0	0%
Total	3	100%

Executions before 1972

The following individuals were executed before 1972, when the Furman v. Georgia ruling briefly abolished capital punishment. All were executed locally by hanging under county authorities. ^{[2] [3]}

Name	Race	Age	Date of execution	County	Crime	Victim(s)	Governor
Thomas King	White	37	June 6, 1890	Jefferson	Murder		Joseph Toole
Antley	Native American		December 19, 1890	Missoula	Murder	Three people, white [4] [a]
La-La-See	Native American				Murder	Two males, white [5]
Pierre Paul	Native American
Pascale	Native American				Murder-Robbery	J. M. Dunn, white [6] [b]
John Burns	White		December 16, 1892	Missoula	Murder	Maurice Higgins, white [7]
Robert Anderson	White	26	July 13, 1894	Park	Murder-Robbery	Emanuel Fleming, 24, white [8]	John E. Rickards
John Osnes	White		July 13, 1894	Chouteau	Murder-Robbery	Ole Lilledall, white [9]
Calvin Christie	White	31	December 21, 1894	Flathead	Murder-Robbery	Lena Cunningham, white [10]
Clay Pugh	White	24	July 1, 1895	Jefferson	Murder	C. T. Wheat, white [11]
Joseph Cadotte	Native American		December 27, 1895	Chouteau	Murder	Oliver Richards, white [12]
John Biggerstaff	Black		April 6, 1896	Lewis and Clark	Murder	Richard Johnson, black [13]
William Gay	White	52	June 8, 1896	Lewis and Clark	Murder	James Mackey, white [14]
Thomas Salmon	White		January 27, 1899	Carbon	Murder	William O'Connor, white [15]	Robert Burns Smith
Joseph Allen	White	21	September 14, 1899	Lewis and Clark	Murder-Robbery	E. C. Leach, 37, white [16]
William Brooks	Black		November 24, 1899	Yellowstone	Murder	Jennie Brooks, black (wife) [17] [c]
William Calder	White	27	March 18, 1900	Fergus	Murder-Robbery	Farquhar McRae and John Allen, white [18]
Joseph Hurst	White		March 29, 1900	Dawson	Murder	Dominic Cavanaugh, white (sheriff) [19] [d]
William Pepo	White	48	April 6, 1900	Teton	Murder-Robbery	Julius Plath, white [20]
Daniel Lucey	White	42	September 14, 1900	Silver Bow	Murder-Robbery	Patrick Reagan, white [21] [e]
Jim Fleming	White		September 6, 1901	Powell	Conspiracy to murder	Oliver Dotson, white (Clinton's father) [22] [23] [f]	Joseph Toole
Clinton Dotson	White		April 4, 1902
James Martin	White		February 23, 1904	Silver Bow	Murder-Robbery	John R. Williams, white [24]
Louis Mott	White		May 18, 1904	Missoula	Murder	Female, white (wife) [25]
Herbert Metzger	White		May 5, 1905	Meagher	Murder-Robbery	Homer Ward, white [26]
Lu Sing	Asian		April 20, 1906	Gallatin	Murder	Tom Sing, Asian [27]
Miles Fuller	White	66	May 18, 1906	Silver Bow	Murder
George Rock	White	35	June 15, 1908	Powell	Murder	John A. Robinson, white (deputy warden) [28] [g]	Edwin L. Norris
Frederick LeBeau	White		April 2, 1909	Flathead	Murder	William F. and Riley Yoakum, white [29]
William Hayes	White		April 7, 1909	Powell	Murder	John A. Robinson, white (deputy warden) [30] [h]
Henry Hall	Black		February 16, 1917	Meagher	Murder-Robbery	Michael Freeman, white [31]	Sam V. Stewart
Harrison Gibson	Black
Leslie Fahley	Black
Sherman Powell	Black		January 14, 1918	Silver Bow	Murder
John O'Neill	White				Murder-Robbery
Frank Fisher	White
John Cuellae	Hispanic	30	April 12, 1918	Yellowstone	Murder	Enos Nelson, white (Billings policeman) [32]
Alfred Lane	White	36	September 3, 1920	Rosebud	Murder	Harry Theade, white [33]
Albert Yick	White	29	August 26, 1921	Beaverhead	Murder	C. K. Wyman, white (sheriff) [34]	Joseph M. Dixon
Joe Vuckovich	White	34	February 17, 1922	Missoula	Murder	Mrs. Jerry Shea, 25, white [35]
Joseph Reagin	White	22	February 9, 1923	Treasure	Murder	Irving Keeler, white (sheriff) [36]
Glenna Bolton	White	29
William Harris	White		April 20, 1923	Silver Bow	Murder	Cyril Schilling, white [37]
Monte Harris	White	23
Seth Danner	White		July 18, 1924	Gallatin	Murder-Robbery	Mr. and Mrs. John Sprouse, white [38]
Roy Walsh	White	22	February 15, 1925	Jefferson	Murder-Robbery	A. S. Johnson, white [39]	John E. Erickson
Tony Vettere	White		January 1, 1926	Silver Bow	Murder	Joe Ciccarelli and Antone Favero, white [40]
Ferdinand Schlaps	White	19	May 20, 1927	Roosevelt	Murder-Robbery	Ludmilla Geisler, white [41] [i]
Rollin Davisson	White	44	November 6, 1929	Park	Murder	Peter Holt and Martin Zollman, white (Livingston chief of police and patrolman) [42]
George Hoffman	White	45	August 29, 1933	Chouteau	Murder-Robbery	George Burrell, white [43]	Frank Henry Cooney
Henry Zorn	White	26	April 24, 1935	Custer	Murder-Burglary	Lester C. Jones, white [44]
George Griner	Black	38	October 16, 1935	Custer	Murder	James Fraser, 68, white (Miles City policeman) [45]
Franklin Robideau	White	49	January 15, 1938	Stillwater	Murder-Robbery	Mike and Frieda Kuntz, 35 and 27, white [46] [j]	Roy E. Ayers
Lee Simpson	White	52	December 30, 1939	Golden Valley	Murder	Three people, white [47] [k]
Phillip Coleman Jr.	Black	24	September 10, 1943	Missoula	Murder-Robbery	Carl W. Pearson, 48, white [48] [l]	Sam C. Ford

See also

• Capital punishment in Montana
• Capital punishment in the United States

Notes

1. Daniel McDonald, Benjamin Tompkins, and John Chelsey.
2. Also murdered his younger sister several years earlier.
3. Previously shot two men, killing one, while in the army but claimed the shooting occurred during the line of duty and was not prosecuted.
4. Hurst, the deputy sheriff, lost an election to become sheriff to Cavanaugh but became acting sheriff after his murder.
5. Suspected of several other murders.
6. Dotson, who was serving a life sentence in the state prison for the murder of Gene Cullinane, planned the murder with Fleming.
7. Murdered in Montana State Prison. Rock was serving a life sentence for another murder at the time of the crime.
8. Murdered in Montana State Prison.
9. Also killer her husband, Antone Geisler.
10. Murdered an elderly pensioner near West Beekmantown, New York, with his brother in 1910 and sentenced to 20 years in prison, but escaped.
11. Ranch employees Gerald and Robert McDonald and deputy sheriff Arthur Burford.
12. Suspected serial killer, confessed to several other murders.

References

1. "Execution Database | Death Penalty Information Center". Death Penalty Information Center. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
2. "Executions in Montana - 1863-1943 - DeathPenaltyUSA, the database of executions in the United States". deathpenaltyusa.org. Retrieved August 23, 2025.
3. "Montana". Death Penalty Information Center. Retrieved August 23, 2025.
4. Antley, 1890 December 19, Espy Archive
5. See Lala, Paul Pierre, 1890 December 19, Espy Archive
6. Pascale, 1890 December 19, Espy Archive
7. John Burns, 1892 December 16, Espy Archive
8. Robert Anderson, MT, 1894 July 13, Espy Archive
9. John Osnes, 1894 July 13, Espy Archive
10. Calvin Christie, 1894 December 21, Espy Archive
11. Clay Pugh, MT, 1895 July 1, Espy Archive
12. Joseph Cadotte, 1895 December 27, Espy Archive
13. John Biggerstaff, 1896 April 6, Espy Archive
14. William Gay, 1896 June 8, Espy Archive
15. Thomas Salmon, 1899 January 27, Espy Archive
16. Joseph Allen, 1899 September 14, Espy Archive
17. William Brooks, 1899 November 24, Espy Archive
18. William Calder, 1900 March 18, Espy Archive
19. Joseph Hurst, 1900 March 29, Espy Archive
20. William Pepo, 1900 April 6, Espy Archive
21. Daniel Lucey, MT, 1900 September 14, Espy Archive
22. Jim Fleming, 1901 September 6, Espy Archive
23. Clint Dotson, 1902 April 4, Espy Archive
24. James Martin, 1904 February 23, Espy Archive
25. Louis Mott, 1904 March 18, Espy Archive
26. Herbert Metzger, 1905 May 5, Espy Archive
27. Sing Lu, 1906 April 20, Espy Archive
28. George Rock, 1908 June 15, Espy Archive
29. Frederick Lebeau, MT, 1909 April 2, Espy Archive
30. William Hayes, 1909 April 7, Espy Archive
31. Henry Hall, Harrison Gibson, Leslie Fahley, 1917 February 16, Espy Archive
32. John Cuellae, 1918 April 12, Espy Archive
33. Alfred Lane, 1920 September 3, Espy Archive
34. Albert Yick, 1921 August 26, Espy Archive
35. Joe Vuckovich, 1922 February 17, Espy Archive
36. Joseph Reagin, Glenna Bolton, 1923 February 9, Espy Archive
37. Monte Harris, MT, 1923 April 20, Espy Archive
38. Seth Danner, 1924 July 18, Espy Archive
39. Roy Walsh, 1925 February 15, Espy Archive
40. Tony Vettere, 1926 October 1, Espy Archive
41. Ferdinand Schlaps, 1927 May 20, Espy Archive
42. Rollin Davisson, 1929 November 6, Espy Archive
43. George Hoffman, 1933 August 29, Espy Archive
44. Henry Zorn, 1935 April 24, Espy Archive
45. George Griner, 1935 October 16, Espy Archive
46. Franklin Robideau, 1938 January 15, Espy Archive
47. Lee Simpson, 1939 December 30, Espy Archive
48. Phillip Coleman Jr., 1943 September 10, Espy Archive