Tennessee’s electric chair is still operational, housed at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville, and was last used in February 2020. Lethal injection is the default method under state law, but any inmate whose crime occurred before January 1, 1999, can elect the chair by signing a written waiver. The chair also functions as a mandatory backup if lethal injection is ruled unconstitutional or the state cannot obtain the drugs.
Who Can Choose the Electric Chair
Tennessee Code 40-23-114 makes lethal injection the default and carves out a single exception: inmates sentenced to death for offenses committed before January 1, 1999, may elect electrocution by signing a written waiver giving up their right to lethal injection.1Justia. Tennessee Code 40-23-114 – Death by Lethal Injection – Election of Electrocution – Electrocution as Alternative Method
The statute does not set a specific deadline for making that choice. If no waiver is signed, the state proceeds with lethal injection. Because the eligibility date is fixed, the pool of inmates who can choose the chair shrinks every year and can never grow: no new offense will ever qualify.
Between 2007 and 2020, six Tennessee inmates were executed by electrocution, each after actively electing the chair over lethal injection. Daryl Holton’s 2007 execution was the first use of the chair since 1960. Edmund Zagorski followed in November 2018, then David Earl Miller, Stephen West, Lee Hall, and Nicholas Sutton across 2018, 2019, and 2020.2Tennessee Department of Correction. Capital Punishment Chronology
When the Chair Becomes Mandatory for Everyone
Two statutory triggers switch electrocution from an option to the required method for all death row inmates, without any new legislation. The first is a court ruling that lethal injection is unconstitutional. The second is a certification from the commissioner of correction to the governor that the state cannot obtain the necessary drugs despite reasonable efforts.1Justia. Tennessee Code 40-23-114 – Death by Lethal Injection – Election of Electrocution – Electrocution as Alternative Method
This backup provision exists because lethal injection drugs have grown harder to acquire. Pharmaceutical companies have restricted sales to corrections departments, and injection protocols face ongoing legal challenges. The trigger keeps Tennessee’s death penalty operational if the drug supply fails.
How an Electrocution Is Carried Out
The Tennessee Department of Correction maintains a separate execution manual for electrocution. Teams rehearse the procedure quarterly in sessions the agency internally calls “band practice,” running every step except activating the current.
Before the inmate enters the chamber, the head and legs are shaved to ensure electrical contact. The inmate wears cotton clothing with no metal components. Once seated, heavy leather restraints secure the chest, arms, and legs. Natural sea sponges soaked in saltwater are placed on the shaved head and ankles, sitting between the skin and the copper electrodes to improve conductivity and reduce burning.
On the warden’s order, the executioner activates the system from a control console. The cycle delivers 1,750 volts in two phases: a first application of 20 seconds, a pause, and a second application of 15 seconds. After the current stops, protocol requires a waiting period before a physician enters the chamber to determine whether the inmate has died and pronounce the time of death.
The Chair Itself
Tennessee’s chair is a heavy oak structure kept in a dedicated room at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville.3Tennessee Department of Correction. Riverbend Maximum Security Institution It is known as “Old Sparky,” and in some accounts “Old Smokey,” names shared with electric chairs in other states. A long-standing legend holds that the original chair was built from wood salvaged from Tennessee’s old gallows, though that claim is difficult to verify. When execution equipment consultant Fred Leuchter later refurbished the chair, state officials reportedly asked that wood from the original be incorporated into the rebuilt version.
The chair has a high backrest, integrated restraint points, and a metal headpiece wired to the electrical system. Adjustable fittings accommodate different body sizes so the electrodes stay in firm contact. Electrical components have been updated over the years while the wooden frame has been kept.
Recent Use and Current Status
On May 2, 2022, Governor Bill Lee halted all Tennessee executions after corrections officials failed to test lethal injection drugs for bacterial endotoxins before the scheduled execution of Oscar Franklin Smith. Lee ordered an independent review led by former U.S. Attorney Ed Stanton, covering the testing failure, the clarity of the 2018 lethal injection manual, and TDOC staffing. Executions stayed paused while the state overhauled its protocols.
Tennessee resumed executions in 2025 under a revised protocol using the single drug pentobarbital, developed with the Attorney General’s Office. Four inmates were executed that year, and as of early 2026 four more executions have been scheduled. All recent executions have used lethal injection. The chair remains available on the same statutory terms: eligible inmates can still elect it, and it still functions as the mandatory backup.
Constitutional Challenges to the Chair
Opponents have repeatedly argued that electrocution violates the Eighth Amendment. In 2015, a group of 37 Tennessee death row inmates filed West v. Schofield, contending the chair would cause unconstitutional suffering. The Tennessee Supreme Court rejected the challenge as unripe, reasoning that lethal injection was still the default and the chair would come into play only if drugs became unavailable or injection was struck down.4Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts. Zagorski v. Haslam – Petition for Writ of Certiorari
Edmund Zagorski brought a standalone Eighth Amendment challenge in October 2018, days before his scheduled execution. Tennessee courts dismissed it, holding that by voluntarily choosing electrocution over lethal injection, he had waived the argument. The U.S. Supreme Court denied a stay. Justice Sotomayor, in a statement respecting the denial, wrote that the Court’s decision “says nothing about the constitutional tolerability of the electric chair.”5Legal Information Institute. Zagorski v. Haslam Whether electrocution itself is cruel and unusual punishment remains unresolved at the federal level.
Who Is Allowed to Watch
Tennessee law strictly limits attendance at an execution, and the warden can face a Class C misdemeanor charge for admitting anyone outside the statutory list. Authorized witnesses are:
- The warden or a designated deputy, plus any attendants the warden considers necessary to conduct the execution.
- The sheriff of the county where the crime was committed.
- A member of the clergy who has been counseling the condemned person.
- The prison physician.
- Seven members of print, radio, and television news media, selected under TDOC rules and required to share their coverage with reporters not chosen to attend.
- Adult immediate family members of the victim, including a spouse, children, parents, grandparents, or siblings. If no immediate family survives, up to three other relatives or personal friends of the victim may attend.
- Family members of the condemned inmate.
- One defense attorney chosen by the condemned person, plus the state attorney general or a designee.6FindLaw. Tennessee Code 40-23-116 – Execution of Death Sentence
Media witnesses face additional TDOC rules. No photographic or recording equipment is allowed in the chamber. After the execution, all media witnesses must attend a press conference at a location the warden designates and stay until it ends. A representative who violates any institutional rule can be barred from future executions without the commissioner’s approval.7Legal Information Institute. Tennessee Comp. R. Regs. 0420-03-04-.05 – Witness Guidelines