No, Michigan does not have the death penalty. The state abolished capital punishment for murder in 1847, and since January 1, 1964, the Michigan Constitution has prohibited it outright. Article IV, Section 46 says: “No law shall be enacted providing for the penalty of death.”1Michigan Legislature. Constitution of Michigan of 1963, Article IV, Section 46 Michigan is the only state in the country whose constitution contains an outright ban on capital punishment, and no execution under Michigan law has taken place since 1830.
How Long Michigan Has Been Without the Death Penalty
Michigan’s last execution happened on September 24, 1830, when Stephen Simmons was hanged in Detroit for killing his wife. Michigan was still a territory. Simmons delivered a moving final address and sang a hymn before the crowd, and the spectacle shifted public opinion against the practice rather than reinforcing it.2WKAR Public Media. Michigan’s Last Execution | September 24
After statehood in 1837, the legislature split murder into degrees and kept the death penalty only for first-degree murder. In 1846, legislators voted to replace even that with life in prison without the possibility of parole. The change took effect on March 1, 1847, making Michigan the first English-speaking government in the world to abolish capital punishment for murder and lesser crimes.3State Bar of Michigan. Michigan Legal Milestones: 41. First to Abolish the Death Penalty Treason technically remained a capital offense under that 1847 statute, but no one was ever executed under the provision.4Death Penalty Information Center. Michigan
For more than a century, that abolition rested on ordinary statute. The 1961–1962 constitutional convention changed that by writing the ban directly into the new constitution, which took effect January 1, 1964. The constitutional text contains no exception, not even for treason.3State Bar of Michigan. Michigan Legal Milestones: 41. First to Abolish the Death Penalty
What Michigan Uses Instead
Life imprisonment without the possibility of parole is Michigan’s most severe sentence, and it has been the replacement for the death penalty since 1847. Prisoners sentenced to life without parole for offenses such as first-degree murder are not eligible for parole consideration under Michigan law.5Michigan Legislature. MCL – Section 791.234 – Corrections Code of 1953 (Excerpt)
Can Someone Still Face the Death Penalty for a Crime in Michigan?
Yes, but only under federal law. Michigan’s constitutional ban stops the state from imposing capital punishment. It does not restrict the federal government. Federal prosecutors can seek the death penalty for federal crimes committed anywhere in the country, including in states that have abolished it, and the location of the crime carries no legal weight as a mitigating factor.
Marvin Gabrion is the case that made this concrete. In 2002, a jury convicted him of murdering Rachel Timmerman in the Manistee National Forest. Because the killing occurred on federal land, it fell under federal jurisdiction and was prosecuted under 18 U.S.C. § 1111. Gabrion argued that Michigan’s abolitionist stance should count as a mitigating factor at sentencing. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the argument, holding that the murder’s location in Michigan “has nothing to do with Gabrion’s background or character” and “nothing to do with his culpability for that offense.”6U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. United States v. Gabrion Gabrion’s death sentence was later commuted by President Biden in late 2024.
Federal death-eligible crimes include espionage, treason, and certain murders committed during drug trafficking operations or on federal property, among others.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 3591 – Sentence of Death In January 2025, President Trump signed an executive order directing the Attorney General to “pursue the death penalty for all crimes of a severity demanding its use,” reversing the moratorium on federal executions that had been in place since 2021.8The White House. Restoring The Death Penalty And Protecting Public Safety The practical takeaway for Michigan residents is that the state cannot execute anyone, but the federal government retains that power for qualifying federal offenses.
Could Michigan Bring the Death Penalty Back?
Only through a constitutional amendment. Because the ban lives in the constitution rather than in ordinary statute, a simple legislative majority is not enough. Two routes lead to the ballot, and both end with a statewide vote.
The legislative route requires a joint resolution to pass both the Michigan House and Senate by a two-thirds supermajority. If it clears both chambers, the question goes directly to voters at the next general election.9Michigan Legislature. How an Issue Becomes a Ballot Proposal
The citizen route uses a petition drive. Signatures from registered voters equal to at least 10 percent of the total votes cast for all gubernatorial candidates in the most recent election are required, and the signed petition must be filed at least 120 days before the election at which the amendment would appear on the ballot.10Michigan Legislature. Constitution of Michigan of 1963 – Article XII Section 2 Either path requires majority approval from voters to succeed.
Reinstatement proposals surface periodically in the legislature, usually after a high-profile violent crime, and none has come close to passing. The most notable recent attempt was 2004’s House Joint Resolution W, introduced by State Representative Larry Julian. It proposed allowing the death penalty for first-degree murder when guilt was proven to a “moral certainty,” covering scenarios such as killings of law enforcement and corrections officers, murders during other violent felonies, and premeditated killings.11Michigan Legislature. Legislative Analysis – House Joint Resolution W (Substitute H-1) It failed to gain sufficient support, as every prior attempt had.
How Michigan Compares to Other States
As of 2025, 23 states and the District of Columbia have abolished the death penalty, and 27 states retain it on the books.12Death Penalty Information Center. State by State Michigan’s 1847 abolition makes it the longest-standing abolitionist jurisdiction in the English-speaking world. Wisconsin followed in 1853, Maine in 1887, and most other abolitionist states did not act until the late 20th or early 21st century. Washington, in 2023, was the most recent.
Michigan also stands apart in how it abolished. Most abolitionist states repealed their capital punishment statutes through ordinary legislation, so a future legislature could reverse course with a simple majority. Michigan’s constitutional ban raises that bar substantially. Among the 27 states that keep the death penalty, several maintain execution authority on paper without using it: four states currently have executive moratoriums pausing executions, and states like California have faced ongoing legal challenges that create a practical suspension of the practice.13National Conference of State Legislatures. States and Capital Punishment Michigan’s position is different in kind, not just degree: the state cannot execute anyone without first amending its constitution.