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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 is still on death row in Tennessee, as of January 2016.

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was willing to plead guilty for a life sentence at trial, but because her co-defendant would not, the plea bargain was rescinded.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


Intellectual Disability

Apr 15, 2021

NEWS BRIEF — Tennessee Legislative Committees Approve Intellectual Disability Bill

On April 14, 2021, com­mit­tees in both cham­bers of the Tennessee leg­is­la­ture vot­ed to advance bills that would cre­ate a legal mech­a­nism for death-row pris­on­ers to chal­lenge their death sen­tences on the grounds that they have intell…

NEWS BRIEF — Tennessee Legislative Committees Approve Intellectual Disability Bill

Costs

Apr 15, 2021

Arizona DoC Paid $1.5 Million for Execution Drugs While Facing a Budget Crisis

At a time in which the Arizona Department of Corrections is fac­ing crit­i­cism for crum­bling infra­struc­ture, sub­stan­dard med­ical care, and under­staffing, the depart­ment has spent $1.5 mil­lion to pur­chase the lethal-injec­tion drug pe…

Arizona DoC Paid $1.5 Million for Execution Drugs While Facing a Budget Crisis

Innocence

Apr 02, 2021

Clemency Efforts for Pervis Payne Gain Widespread Support as Execution Reprieve Set to Expire

Clemency efforts on behalf of Tennessee death-row pris­on­er Pervis Payne (pic­tured) are surg­ing, as a peti­tion on his behalf by The Innocence Project had col­lect­ed more than 600,000 sig­na­tures by M…

Clemency Efforts for Pervis Payne Gain Widespread Support as Execution Reprieve Set to Expire

Arbitrariness

Feb 05, 2021

Tennessee Criminal Appeals Court Hears Appeal for Posthumous DNA Testing in Sedley Alley Case

Lawyers for the daugh­ter of a man exe­cut­ed by Tennessee have asked a state appeals court to per­mit DNA test­ing that could prove his inno­cence. In a vir­tu­al hear­ing before the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals on February 3, 2021 (see

Tennessee Criminal Appeals Court Hears Appeal for Posthumous DNA Testing in Sedley Alley Case

Innocence

Jan 22, 2021

Defense Lawyers Say DNA Tests Point to ‘Unknown Male’ as Likely Killer in Tennessee Death-Row Prisoner Pervis Payne’s Case

Lawyers for Tennessee death-row pris­on­er Pervis Payne say DNA test­ing in his 30-year-old case points to an ​“unknown male” and excludes Payne as the per­son who stabbed to death Charisse Christopher and her 2‑y…

Defense Lawyers Say DNA Tests Point to ‘Unknown Male’ as Likely Killer in Tennessee Death-Row Prisoner Pervis Payne’s Case

Intellectual Disability

Dec 07, 2020

Capital Case Roundup — Death Penalty Court Decisions the Week of November 30, 2020

NEWS (12/​4/​20) — Nevada: The Nevada Supreme Court has over­turned the death sen­tence imposed on Mexican for­eign nation­al Carlos Gutierrez

Upcoming Executions

Dec 03, 2020

COVID-19 Prison Outbreaks Kill Death-Row Prisoners in Ohio and Missouri and Infect At Least 11 on Tennessee’s Death Row

New COVID-19 out­breaks on the nation’s death rows have killed pris­on­ers in Ohio and Missouri and sick­ened at least 11 men on Tennessee’s death row. James Frazier (pic­ture…

COVID-19 Prison Outbreaks Kill Death-Row Prisoners in Ohio and Missouri and Infect At Least 11 on Tennessee’s Death Row

Innocence

Nov 09, 2020

Citing COVID-19, Governor Grants Reprieve to Tennessee Death-Row Prisoner Pervis Payne

Citing the coro­n­avirus pan­dem­ic, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has grant­ed a tem­po­rary reprieve to death-row pris­on­er Pervis Payne, halt­ing his sched­uled December 3, 2020 exe­cu­tion. The exe­cu­tion was the last schedu…

Citing COVID-19, Governor Grants Reprieve to Tennessee Death-Row Prisoner Pervis Payne

Innocence

Sep 21, 2020

Capital Case Roundup — Death Penalty Court Decisions the Week of September 14, 2020

NEWS (9/​17/​20) — Florida: The Florida Supreme Court has denied post-con­vic­tion relief to Ken Lott, retroactiv…

Innocence

Sep 14, 2020

Black Legislators, Legal Associations, Faith Leaders, and Community Groups Call for DNA Testing/Intellectual Disability Hearing that Could Take Pervis Payne Off Tennessee’s Death Row

Leaders in the Tennessee African-American com­mu­ni­ty are urg­ing Governor Bill Lee and the state and fed­er­al courts to halt the exe­cu­tion of a Black death-row pris­on­er who may be both inno­cent and intel­lec­tu­al­ly di…

Black Legislators, Legal Associations, Faith Leaders, and Community Groups Call for DNA Testing/Intellectual Disability Hearing that Could Take Pervis Payne Off 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: 51
  • 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: 6,346,105
  • Murder Rate (per 100,000 population): 7.8
  • 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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