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Murder under Alaska law is divided into first-degree murder and second-degree murder.

History

Under Alaska's first law code, the Carter Code, the punishment for first-degree murder was a death sentence, but the jury could choose to give the defendant a life sentence instead. First-degree murder included not only deliberately killing another, but also all killings conducted in the course of certain felonies. Also, killing by poisoning or blocking a railroad were automatically considered first-degree murders. Second-degree murder included all malicious killings not included within the remit of first-degree murder, and carried a minimum penalty of fifteen years' imprisonment.

In 1957, when the death penalty was abolished in Alaska, the punishment for first-degree murder was changed to "life or for any term of years".

In 1978, Alaska's penal code was reformed. Murder and attempting murder were "unclassified felonies", which meant that it was one of the most serious crimes under the code. The punishment for first-degree murder was reduced to a minimum of 15 years, and that for a second-degree murder to a minimum of five. However the court could impose a 99-year sentence in all cases, and a 99-year sentence was mandatory in certain cases, such as when the offender had previously been convicted of first- or second-degree murder, or when the person killed was a police officer or had been tortured by the offender.

Before 1993, the minimum punishment for first-degree murder was increased to 20 years.