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2021 Tennessee Code
Title 39 - Criminal Offenses
Chapter 13 - Offenses Against Person
Part 2 - Criminal Homicide
§ 39-13-210. Second Degree Murder

Universal Citation:
TN Code § 39-13-210 (2021)
Learn more This media-neutral citation is based on the American Association of Law Libraries Universal Citation Guide and is not necessarily the official citation.
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  1. 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.

  2. 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.


    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.
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