Until 1851, Montenegro was a theocracy, ruled by an Orthodox Bishop and a Senate, composed of representatives of Montenegrin tribes, which enjoyed a full autonomy.
It prescribed the death penalty for murder and treason and allowed three modes of execution: hanging, shooting and stoning.
Executions of women were extremely rare – one documented case involved a woman stoned for murdering her husband in 1854.
An exception to this were two political trials in 1908 and 1909, when 13 people accused of conspiring against the government were sentenced to death and 9 were executed.
In the north-western provinces (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia and Vojvodina), executions were by hanging in an enclosed space with restricted public attendance.
In addition to political offences, capital crimes included theft of government property, aggravated murder, and robbery.
Hanging was abolished and shootings became the only legal method, performed by eight police officers, with half having firing blanks.
[6] The last execution in Montenegro was in Kotor on 29 January 1981, for Dragiša Ristić, sentenced to death for aggravated murder.
The last 2 death sentences were passed by the Higher Court in Podgorica for Slavko Dević and Rade Arsović, convicted of murder.
In 1906, a pamphlet against capital punishment was published in Cetinje, and in 1907 the minister of justice informed the parliament that it was the prince's wish to have the death penalty abolished in Montenegro, except for treason.
On 19/06/2002, the Montenegrin Parliament amended the penal code by removing all references to capital punishment.