The Montana Department of Corrections provides public information regarding the death of inmates in its custody pursuant to the Public Records Act, Mont. Code Ann. § 2-6-1001, et seq.

Under Montana law (Title 46, Ch. 4, Pts. 1, 2, MCA), the cause, manner and circumstances of the death of a person who dies while incarcerated in a prison or confined to a correctional facility operated by the state shall be inquired into and determined by a county coroner. Those findings are provided by the coroner to the county attorney in the county of jurisdiction, who may request an inquest into the causes of and circumstances surrounding the death (Title 46, Ch.4, Pts. 2a, MCA). The coroner’s official statement of the cause of death is stated in a death certificate, which are public records. (Title 46-4-110, MCA; 37.8.801, ARM) 

2021