Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-210: Second degree murder
Where this section sits in the code
- TN Code
- Title 39
- Chapter 13
(a) Second degree murder is: (1) A knowing killing of another; (2) A killing of another that results from the unlawful distribution of any Schedule I or Schedule II drug, when the drug is the proximate cause of the death of the user; or (3) A killing of another by unlawful distribution or unlawful delivery or unlawful dispensation of fentanyl or carfentanil, when those substances alone, or in combination with any substance scheduled as a controlled substance by the Tennessee Drug Control Act of 1989, compiled in chapter 17, part 4 of this title and in title 53, chapter 11, parts 3 and 4, including controlled substance analogs, is the proximate cause of the death of the user. (b) In a prosecution for a violation of this section, if the defendant knowingly engages in multiple incidents of domestic abuse, assault or the infliction of bodily injury against a single victim, the trier of fact may infer that the defendant was aware that the cumulative effect of the conduct was reasonably certain to result in the death of the victim, regardless of whether any single incident would have resulted in the death. (c) (1) Second degree murder is a Class A felony. (2) Notwithstanding the Tennessee Criminal Sentencing Reform Act of 1989, compiled in title 40, chapter 35, a person convicted of a violation of subdivision (a)(2) where the victim is a minor shall be punished from within one (1) range higher than the sentencing range otherwise appropriate for the person. Amended by 2018 Tenn. Acts, ch. 995,s 1, eff. 7/1/2018. Amended by 2018 Tenn. Acts, ch. 934,s 2, eff. 7/1/2018. Acts 1989, ch. 591, § 1; T.C.A., § 39-13-206 ; Acts 1990, ch. 980, § 6; 1990, ch. 1038, § 4; 1995, ch. 460, § 2; 2006, ch. 967, § 2.
(a) Second degree murder is: (1) A knowing killing of another; (2) A killing of another that results from the unlawful distribution of any Schedule I or Schedule II drug, when the drug is the proximate cause of the death of the user; or (3) A killing of another by unlawful distribution or unlawful delivery or unlawful dispensation of fentanyl or carfentanil, when those substances alone, or in combination with any substance scheduled as a controlled substance by the Tennessee Drug Control Act of 1989, compiled in chapter 17, part 4 of this title and in title 53, chapter 11, parts 3 and 4, including controlled substance analogs, is the proximate cause of the death of the user.
(1) A knowing killing of another;
(2) A killing of another that results from the unlawful distribution of any Schedule I or Schedule II drug, when the drug is the proximate cause of the death of the user; or
(3) A killing of another by unlawful distribution or unlawful delivery or unlawful dispensation of fentanyl or carfentanil, when those substances alone, or in combination with any substance scheduled as a controlled substance by the Tennessee Drug Control Act of 1989, compiled in chapter 17, part 4 of this title and in title 53, chapter 11, parts 3 and 4, including controlled substance analogs, is the proximate cause of the death of the user.
(b) In a prosecution for a violation of this section, if the defendant knowingly engages in multiple incidents of domestic abuse, assault or the infliction of bodily injury against a single victim, the trier of fact may infer that the defendant was aware that the cumulative effect of the conduct was reasonably certain to result in the death of the victim, regardless of whether any single incident would have resulted in the death.
ion of this section, if the defendant knowingly engages in multiple incidents of domestic abuse, assault or the infliction of bodily injury against a single victim, the trier of fact may infer that the defendant was aware that the cumulative effect of the conduct was reasonably certain to result in the death of the victim, regardless of whether any single incident would have resulted in the death.
(c) (1) Second degree murder is a Class A felony. (2) Notwithstanding the Tennessee Criminal Sentencing Reform Act of 1989, compiled in title 40, chapter 35, a person convicted of a violation of subdivision (a)(2) where the victim is a minor shall be punished from within one (1) range higher than the sentencing range otherwise appropriate for the person.
(1) Second degree murder is a Class A felony.
(2) Notwithstanding the Tennessee Criminal Sentencing Reform Act of 1989, compiled in title 40, chapter 35, a person convicted of a violation of subdivision (a)(2) where the victim is a minor shall be punished from within one (1) range higher than the sentencing range otherwise appropriate for the person.
Collected 2026-09-17T21:51:56Z. Source file · JSON
Compilation CC BY 4.0, Open US Law (Vaquill AI). GroundRules uses only the releases published under CC BY 4.0: from v2026.09 the compilation is licensed CC BY-NC 4.0, and GroundRules does not use those releases. Each affected row names its release in its vintage label. GroundRules parsed and filtered the compilation to retain enacted text. Source · License
Tennessee electronic product files were republished by Public.Resource.Org under a public-domain mark. GroundRules uses enacted text from Release 76 only as a labeled supplement to the newer Open US Law rows. Source