No, Alaska does not have the death penalty. The territorial legislature abolished capital punishment in 1957, two years before statehood, and no attempt to bring it back has succeeded.{1Death Penalty Information Center. Alaska The harshest sentence available under state law today is 99 years in prison with no possibility of parole and no good-time credit reduction.{2Legal Information Institute. 22 AAC 20.017 – Parole Eligibility for Felony Sentences
When Alaska Abolished Capital Punishment
The last person executed in Alaska was Eugene LaMoore, hanged on April 14, 1950, after a conviction built largely on a confession he later retracted.{ Seven years later, during preparations for statehood, the territorial legislature passed a short, categorical abolition: “The death penalty is and shall hereafter be abolished as punishment in Alaska for the commission of any crime.”{1Death Penalty Information Center. Alaska Alaska and Hawaii, which acted the same year, became among the first western U.S. jurisdictions to outlaw executions.
A documented racial disparity in who was being hanged was a major factor. After 1902, every person executed in the territory was a racial or ethnic minority. Of the eight people hanged after 1900, three were Alaska Natives, two were Black, and one was an immigrant from Montenegro, leaving only two who were white.{1Death Penalty Information Center. Alaska Lawmakers pushing for statehood wanted to show Alaska could govern itself fairly, and the execution record undercut that case.
Several bills to reinstate the death penalty have been introduced since, including multiple attempts in the 1990s. None has passed.
The Constitutional Backstop
Alaska’s state constitution, drafted in anticipation of statehood, prohibits cruel and unusual punishments and goes further than the federal version. Article I, Section 12 directs that “criminal administration shall be based upon the following: the need for protecting the public, community condemnation of the offender, the rights of victims of crimes, restitution from the offender, and the principle of reformation.” That explicit constitutional emphasis on reformation sets Alaska apart from most states and reinforces the legal footing against bringing executions back.
The Harshest Sentence Alaska Can Impose
With execution unavailable, the longest prison terms go to people convicted of murder. First-degree and second-degree murder are classified as unclassified felonies, sitting above the standard felony tiers and carrying the most severe penalties.
First-Degree Murder
First-degree murder covers intentional killings, deaths caused by repeated child abuse of a victim under 16, and certain felony-murder scenarios tied to sexual offenses against children, kidnapping, arson-related criminal mischief, or terroristic threatening.{3Justia. Alaska Statutes 11.41.100 – Murder in the First Degree A conviction carries a definite term of 30 to 99 years.{4Justia. Alaska Statutes 12.55.125 – Sentences of Imprisonment for Felonies
Some circumstances trigger a mandatory 99-year sentence that the judge cannot reduce. These include killing a clearly identified peace officer, firefighter, or correctional employee who was performing official duties, and cases where the defendant has a prior murder conviction in Alaska or an equivalent conviction from another state.{4Justia. Alaska Statutes 12.55.125 – Sentences of Imprisonment for Felonies That mandatory 99-year term is the closest thing Alaska has to life without parole.
Second-Degree Murder
Second-degree murder carries a definite term of 15 to 99 years. If the victim was a child under 16 and the defendant was a parent, guardian, or person in a position of authority over the child, the minimum rises to 20 years.{4Justia. Alaska Statutes 12.55.125 – Sentences of Imprisonment for Felonies
No Parole, No Good Time
Alaska has no sentencing category called life without parole, but for practical purposes a mandatory 99-year term functions that way. A person serving a mandatory 99-year sentence is not eligible for discretionary parole at any point, regardless of when the crime was committed.{2Legal Information Institute. 22 AAC 20.017 – Parole Eligibility for Felony Sentences
Good-time credits are also off the table for the most serious convictions. Alaska law generally allows a one-third reduction for following facility rules, but that reduction does not apply to anyone sentenced to a mandatory 99-year term after June 27, 1996, or to anyone convicted of first-degree or second-degree murder.{5Justia. Alaska Statutes 33.20.010 – Computation of Good Time A 99-year sentence means 99 years.
Stacking Sentences for Multiple Victims
When a defendant is sentenced for multiple violent crimes in the same case, Alaska law requires consecutive rather than concurrent terms. For each additional conviction involving offenses against persons, the court must impose a consecutive term, and for each additional first-degree murder the consecutive portion must be at least the 30-year mandatory minimum.{6Justia. Alaska Statutes 12.55.127 – Consecutive and Concurrent Terms of Imprisonment A defendant convicted of two first-degree murders can face stacked sentences totaling well over a century, with no parole and no good-time reduction to shorten them.
The Federal Death Penalty Still Reaches Alaska
State abolition covers state law only. The federal government retains the authority to seek execution for certain federal crimes regardless of where they occur. Federal capital offenses include espionage, treason, and killings connected to large-scale drug trafficking operations, among others.{7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3591 – Sentence of Death Since the federal death penalty was reinstated in 1988, the Department of Justice has pursued capital charges in about 100 cases arising in states without a death penalty.
No publicly reported federal capital prosecution has targeted a crime committed in Alaska, but the legal authority exists. A federal death sentence would be carried out under federal procedures, and the Alaska Legislature would have no power to block it. It is a narrow exception to the general statement that Alaska has no death penalty, but it is a real one.
Clemency Is the Only Early Exit
For someone serving a long Alaska murder sentence, the only route to release before the term runs out is executive clemency from the governor. A commutation can reduce a sentence; a pardon, reprieve, or remission of fines is also possible. The governor’s decision is final and cannot be appealed. Clemency grants for murder are exceptionally rare in any state, and Alaska is no exception.