Murder in Tennessee law

Murder in Tennessee constitutes the unlawful killing, under circumstances defined by law, of people within or under the jurisdiction of the U.S. state of Tennessee.

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that in the year 2021, the state had a murder rate somewhat above the median for the entire country.[1]

Definitions

First-degree murder

First-degree murder is the most serious homicide offense in Tennessee. It is defined as either an intentional killing of another person with premeditation, or the killing of a person during the perpetration or attempted perpetration of one of the following felonies under Tennessee's felony murder rule:[2]

The penalties for first-degree murder are the death penalty, life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, or life-with-parole after 51 years.[3] The only exception for the death penalty is juvenile offenders, as the death penalty for minors was abolished nationwide in 2005. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee currently has set a moratorium on executions, citing concerns about botched executions.[4]

Second-degree murder

Second-degree murder is the second most serious homicide offense in Tennessee. It is defined as one of the following:[5]

The penalty for second-degree murder is 15 to 60 years in prison.

Penalties

The penalties for homicide offenses in Tennessee are listed below.[2]

Offense Mandatory sentence
Criminally negligent homicide 1 to 6 years in prison
Aiding suicide 2 to 12 years in prison
Reckless homicide
Third-degree vehicular homicide
Second-degree vehicular homicide 3 to 15 years in prison
First-degree vehicular homicide 8 to 30 years in prison
Voluntary manslaughter
Second-degree murder 15 to 60 years in prison
First-degree murder

Notes

  1. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has set a moratorium on Tennessee's death penalty.

References

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