The death penalty—also known as capital punishment—refers to the process of state and federal courts sentencing persons convicted of the most serious criminal offenses (capital offenses or capital crimes) to death. The specific crimes and circumstances for which the death penalty is a potential punishment (usually murder) are defined by state and federal statutes enacted by state legislatures and the United States Congress, respectively.

These death penalty or capital punishment statutes are often located in the penal or criminal code, and often in the same statute that defines a criminal offense such as murder. Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia do not have the death penalty as a potential punishment for any criminal offense.

In Tennessee, the death penalty is a legal form of punishment for certain capital offenses, primarily for first-degree murder under specific aggravating circumstances. The relevant statutes are found in the Tennessee Code, particularly under Title 39 (Criminal Offenses), Chapter 13 (Offenses Against Person), Part 2 (Criminal Homicide). Tennessee law outlines several aggravating factors that can lead to a death sentence, such as murders committed during the act of terrorism, previous convictions for a felony involving the use or threat of violence, murder of a law enforcement officer, and others. The state uses lethal injection as the primary method of execution, with the electric chair as an alternative if lethal injection is found unconstitutional or if the drugs are unavailable. It's important to note that the application of the death penalty is subject to extensive legal proceedings, including mandatory appeals to ensure the fairness and correctness of the trial and sentencing.