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State And Federal Info

Tennessee

Famous Capital Cases

Philip Workman

Workman was executed in 2007 for the death of police officer Ronald Oliver, though later ballistics evidence suggested that the bullet that killed Oliver did not match Workman’s gun, and may have come from the gun of another officer on the scene.

Pervis Payne

Payne’s case resulted in the Supreme Court decision Payne v. Tennessee (1991), which allowed victim impact statements to be heard in the sentencing phase of a trial. Payne was removed from death row in 2021 on evidence of his intellectual disability.

Notable Exonerations

Paul Gregory House

Charges against House were dropped in 2009 after he spent 23 years on death row and his case was argued before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Notable Commutations/Clemencies

Gaile Owens

Governor Phil Bredesen commuted her sentence to life in 2010 after she served for over 20 years for hiring someone to kill her husband. Owens was willing to plead guilty for a life sentence at trial, but because her co-defendant would not, the plea bargain was rescinded.

In 1965, Governor Frank Clement commuted the sentences of everyone on Tennessee’s death row after an abolition bill was defeated by one vote.

Milestones in Abolition Efforts

Tennessee had a study committee in 2007-2009 that recommended changes to the current structure, but not abolition.

Executive moratorium in 2007 for 90 days while lethal injection protocol was examined.

In 1965, Tennessee’s Senate voted to repeal the death penalty and repeal only lost in the House by one vote.

Tennessee was one of the first four states to exclude those with intellectual disabilities from the death penalty, doing so in 1990.

Tennessee only resumed executing people in 2000. The state went from 1960-2000 with no executions.

Tennessee “Firsts”

In 1838, Tennessee became the first state to give juries discretion in sentencing those convicted of murder, turning away from the traditional mandatory death sentence.

During the Progressive era (1890’s-1920’s), Tennessee was the only former Confederate state to legislatively abolish execution for murder. The 1915 bill was vetoed by the governor, but went into effect because his veto came too late. In 1919, the death penalty was reinstated.

Other Interesting Facts

Tennessee was the last Southern state to resume executions in the modern era.

A bluegrass concert at Nashville's historic Station Inn.  Photo by James Staub.
A blue­grass con­cert at Nashville’s his­toric Station Inn. Photo by James Staub.

Resources

  • Tennesseans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty
  • American Bar Association Tennessee Death Penalty Assessment
  • Department of Corrections
  • Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference
  • Victims’ Services

Tennessee Execution Totals Since 1976

News & Developments


Lethal Injection

Jun 23, 2022

Tennessee Executions Could Be on Hold for Years Following Independent Investigation, Anticipated Court Challenges

Tennessee exe­cu­tions could be on hold for years, as the state con­ducts an inde­pen­dent inves­ti­ga­tion into wide­spread non-com­pli­ance with its exe­cu­tion pro­to­col and lit­i­gates the con­sti­tu­tion­al­i­ty of revi­sions expect­ed to be made to…

Tennessee Executions Could Be on Hold for Years Following Independent Investigation, Anticipated Court Challenges

Intellectual Disability

Jun 08, 2022

Tennessee Death-Row Prisoner Appeals Ruling Denying Him Relief Despite Agreement by District Attorney that He is Intellectually Disabled

A Tennessee death-row pris­on­er who coun­ty pros­e­cu­tors agree is intel­lec­tu­al­ly dis­abled is appeal­ing a tri­al judge’s refusal to vacate his death sen­tence under a law designed to pro­vide con­demned pris­on­ers a mech­a­nism to enforce th…

Tennessee Death-Row Prisoner Appeals Ruling Denying Him Relief Despite Agreement by District Attorney that He is Intellectually Disabled

Botched Executions

Jun 03, 2022

Court Documents Reveal Widespread Irregularities in Tennessee Executions

Court records from a law­suit brought by Tennessee death-row pris­on­ers have revealed wide­spread irreg­u­lar­i­ties in the state’s exe­cu­tion prac­tices. A series of four arti­cles pub­lished in the Nashville news­pa­per, The Ten…

Court Documents Reveal Widespread Irregularities in Tennessee Executions

Lethal Injection

May 17, 2022

Fallout From Aborted Tennessee Execution: Prosecutors Misrepresented Facts in Federal Lawsuit, 2 Members of Execution Team Knew Drugs Had Not Been Tested

The fall­out fol­low­ing Tennessee’s abort­ed attempt to exe­cute Oscar Smith on April 21, 2022 con­tin­ues to grow, as state pros­e­cu­tors dis­closed that their plead­ings had mis­rep­re­sent­ed facts in a fed­er­al lethal inject…

Fallout From Aborted Tennessee Execution: Prosecutors Misrepresented Facts in Federal Lawsuit, 2 Members of Execution Team Knew Drugs Had Not Been Tested

Upcoming Executions

May 03, 2022

Tennessee Governor Halts Executions Scheduled for 2022 to Conduct Review of Execution Protocol ​‘Oversight’

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee (pic­tured) has paused all exe­cu­tions sched­uled for 2022 and called for an ​“inde­pen­dent review” of the state’s exe­cu­tion pro­to­col to address a ​“tech­ni­cal over­sight” that…

Tennessee Governor Halts Executions Scheduled for 2022 to Conduct Review of Execution Protocol ‘Oversight’

Time on Death Row

Apr 22, 2022

One Execution, One Reprieve: Scheduled Executions of Oldest Death-Row Prisoners in Texas and Tennessee Illustrate Aging of Death Row

In a coin­ci­dence that brought atten­tion to the aging of death row across the United States, the old­est death-row pris­on­ers in Tennessee and Texas faced exe­cu­tion in their respec­tive states on April 21, 2022. Afte…

One Execution, One Reprieve: Scheduled Executions of Oldest Death-Row Prisoners in Texas and Tennessee Illustrate Aging of Death Row

Innocence

Apr 13, 2022

Tennessee Trial Court Denies Motion to Halt Upcoming Execution Based on New DNA Evidence

A Nashville tri­al judge has denied a Tennessee death-row prisoner’s motion to reopen his case and halt his sched­uled April 21, 2022 exe­cu­tion in light of new DNA evi­dence. In a motion filed April 4, 2022,…

Tennessee Trial Court Denies Motion to Halt Upcoming Execution Based on New DNA Evidence

Intellectual Disability

Mar 15, 2022

Nashville DA Concedes Tennessee Death-Row Prisoner with August 2022 Death Warrant Is Intellectually Disabled and Ineligible for Execution

Davidson County District Attorney Glenn Funk is ask­ing a Tennessee tri­al court to vacate the death sen­tence imposed on Byron Black (pic­tured), agree­ing that the Nashville man, who is sched­uled to …

Nashville DA Concedes Tennessee Death-Row Prisoner with August 2022 Death Warrant Is Intellectually Disabled and Ineligible for Execution

News Brief

Mar 05, 2022

Tennessee Sets Three Execution Dates for Most-in-Nation 5 Pending Executions in 2022

The Tennessee Supreme Court has issued death war­rants set­ting exe­cu­tion dates for three pris­on­ers, bring­ing to five — the nation’s‑high — the num­ber of exe­cu­tions pend­ing in the state in 2022. On February 22, 2022, the court set e…

Tennessee Sets Three Execution Dates for Most-in-Nation 5 Pending Executions in 2022

Innocence

Feb 02, 2022

Judge Resentences Pervis Payne to Concurrent Life Terms, Making Him Eligible for Parole in Five Years After 34 Years on Tennessee’s Death Row

A Memphis judge has resen­tenced Pervis Payne to two con­cur­rent life sen­tences, mak­ing the for­mer Tennessee death-row pris­on­er who has long main­tained his inno­cence eli­gi­ble to apply for parole in…

Judge Resentences Pervis Payne to Concurrent Life Terms, Making Him Eligible for Parole in Five Years After 34 Years on Tennessee’s Death Row
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View Information by State

Additional Information


  • Death Penalty: Yes
  • Number of Executions Since 1976: 13
  • Number of Executions Before 1976 (may include federal and military executions): 335
  • Current Death Row Population: 49
  • Women on Death Row: 1
  • Number of Innocent People Freed From Death Row: 3
  • Number of Clemencies Granted: 3
  • Date of Reinstatement (following Furman v. Georgia): February 27, 1974
  • First Execution After Reinstatement: 2000
  • Location of Death Row: Riverbend Maximum Security Institution, Nashville
  • Location of Executions: Riverbend Maximum Security Institution, Nashville
  • Capital: Nashville
  • Region: South
  • Population: 6,829,174
  • Murder Rate (per 100,000 population): 7.29
  • Is Life Without Parole an Option?: Yes
  • Can a defendant get death for a felony in which s/he was not responsible for the murder?: Yes
  • Method of Execution: Lethal injection for crimes after December 31, 1998; others may select electrocution
  • How is Sentence Determined?: Jury
  • Clemency Process: Governor has sole authority to grant clemency
  • Governor: Bill Lee

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