Under present law, upon a trial for first degree murder, should the jury find the defendant guilty of first-degree murder, the jury must not fix punishment as part of the verdict, but, instead, in a separate sentencing hearing to determine whether the defendant should be sentenced to death, to imprisonment for life without the possibility of parole, or imprisonment for life.
Whenever the death penalty is imposed for first degree murder and the judgment has become final in the trial court, the Tennessee supreme court must automatically review the conviction and the sentence of death. If the defendant has been convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to death, then the record as to guilt and sentence must be expeditiously filed with the Tennessee supreme court within the time limit provision of the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure.
This bill requires that if a jury has imposed a sentence of death, then the jury must determine whether the defendant's sentence must be expedited, and, if the jury unanimously determines that an expedited sentence is required, return such findings to the judge upon a form provided by the court. A defendant's sentence must be expedited if the jury finds:
(1) The offense involved the death of three or more victims whom the defendant killed using one or more firearms; the defendant committed the offense by using one or more deadly weapons on the grounds of a public or private elementary, secondary, or postsecondary school; or the defendant committed the offense by killing a first responder who was acting in the course of the first responder's employment at the time of the offense; and
(2) The evidence presented at trial proving the defendant's guilt was incontestable, including, amongst other evidence, video evidence depicting the defendant committing the offense or DNA evidence linking the defendant to the offense.
DEATH BY INJECTION OR ELECTROCUTION
Under present law, for a person who commits an offense for which the person is sentenced to the punishment of death, the method for carrying out this sentence is by lethal injection. A person who committed an offense prior to January 1, 1999, for which the person is sentenced to the punishment of death may elect to be executed by electrocution by signing a written waiver waiving the right to be executed by lethal injection. Additionally, the alternative method of electrocution must be used if lethal injection is held to be unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, or the commissioner of correction certifies to the governor that one or more of the ingredients essential to carrying out a sentence of death by lethal injection is unavailable through no fault of the department.
This bill adds that if the person has been sentenced to the punishment of death and the jury has determined that the sentence must be expedited, then the sentence must be carried out within 30 business days of the conclusion of any appeal and the exhaustion of all available methods of post-conviction relief. This bill also deletes the provision concerning the use of electrocution if one or more of the ingredients essential to lethal injection is unavailable and replaces it with the requirement that the commissioner certify to the governor that the department is unable to carry out a sentence of death by lethal injection despite making reasonable efforts to do so.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 39-13-204, 40-23-114