DataTennessee  

*These factors track the process--i.e. the effort and obstacles--for obtaining data from individual states under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request and appeals process. These factors do not measure the quality of the data; only the process of attempting to obtain the data.

• Photo ID

  Tennessee requires individuals requesting access to public records to present a government-issued photo identification that includes an address in Tennessee

Tennessee blocked our initial FOIA request and subsequent appeal.

They responded with: “This office does not maintain the information that you are requesting.”

Furthermore, Tennessee requires individuals requesting access to public records to present a government-issued photo identification that includes an address in Tennessee. Although we partnered with a Tennessee resident to submit this request, our request was still rejected.

There is a financial barrier even for those who meet the residency requirement. Tennessee charges

15 cents ($0.15) per 8 ½ x 11 or 8 ½ x 14 black and white copy, and 50 cents ($0.50) per 8 ½ x 11 or 8 ½ x 14 color copy, “unless the entity's cost to produce a copy exceeds the threshold amount set out above.”

Tennessee may also charge for the labor involved in producing copies of records. The cost schedule generally allows a records custodian to charge a requester the “hourly wage of the employee(s) reasonably necessary to produce the requested information” after one (1) hour of work has been done by the custodian in producing the requested material.

"The information that you are requesting is not available in this office."

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In Tennessee, felony murder is defined in the first degree murder statute (Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-202).

Prosecutors can charge and convict any person of murder without having to prove that they intended to cause another person’s death. Prosecutors must only prove that a person committed another specified felony and that “in the perpetration of or attempt to perpetrate” it, a death occurred.

A conviction for felony murder carries a sentence of life, life without the possibility of parole, or death.