Murder in Tennessee law 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]
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 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.
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 |
|
