Tennessee Code Annotated
Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-11-112 (2026)
[Repealed] Repealed or amended laws - Application in prosecution for offense
✓ current as of May 2026
When a penal statute or penal legislative act of the state is repealed or amended by a subsequent legislative act, the offense, as defined by the statute or act being repealed or amended, committed while the statute or act was in full force and effect shall be prosecuted under the act or statute in effect at the time of the commission of the offense. Except as provided under § 40-35-117, in the event the subsequent act provides for a lesser penalty, any punishment imposed shall be in accordance with the subsequent act.
Acts 1989, ch. 591, § 1.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 97
cases (19 in the last 5 years), 1991–2026 · leading case: State v. Hutchison, 898 S.W.2d 161 (Tenn. 1994).
State v. Hutchison, 898 S.W.2d 161 (Tenn. 1994). “T.C.A. § 39-11-112, enacted as Sec. I of Chapter 591 of the 1989 Acts, states specifically: Repealed or amended laws Application in Prosecution for Offense Whenever any penal statute is repealed or amended by a subsequent legislative act, any offense, as defined by the…”
State of Tennessee v. Richard Odom, a/k/a Otis Smith, 137 S.W.3d 572 (Tenn. 2004). “The Court explained in Smith that Tennéssee Code Annotated section 39-11-112 5 and the principles against the retroactive application of statutes indicated that the legislature did not intend for the 1989 amendments to be applied retroactively to offenses occurring before the…”
State v. Cauthern, 967 S.W.2d 726 (Tenn. 1998). “" Because life without parole is a lesser penalty than death, the defendant also relies upon Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-11-112 (1991), which provides: Whenever any penal statute or penal legislative act of the state is repealed or amended by a subsequent legislative act, any offense,…”
State v. Brimmer, 876 S.W.2d 75 (Tenn. 1994). “ Whenever any penal statute or penal legislative act of the state is repealed or amended by a subsequent legislative act, any offense, as defined by the statute or act being repealed or amended, committed while such statute or act was in full force and effect shall be…”
State v. Smith, 893 S.W.2d 908 (Tenn. 1994). “Rather, the controlling provision is T.C.A. § 39-11-112, which provides: Whenever any penal statute or penal legislative act of the State is repealed or amended by a subsequent legislative act, any offense is defined by the statute or act being repealed or amended, committed…”
State v. Dorantes, 331 S.W.3d 370 (Tenn. 2011). “Tenn.Code Ann. § 39-11-112 (2010). Thus, even though the law changed between the commission of the charged offenses and the trial of the defendant, the law applicable at the time of the events leading to the victim’s death governs.”
State v. Walker, 910 S.W.2d 381 (Tenn. 1995). “T.C.A. § 39-11-112. At that time the manslaughter statute, T.”
State v. Sherman, 266 S.W.3d 395 (Tenn. 2008). “” Tenn.Code Ann. § 39-11-112 (2006). Our intermediate court concluded that the savings statute effectively abrogated the common law rule, and the Defendant was, therefore, subject to prosecution under the child neglect statute that was in effect at the time the alleged acts were…”
State v. Pike, 978 S.W.2d 904 (Tenn. 1998). “Furthermore, Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-11-112 provides that: whenever any penal statute or penal legislative act of the state is repealed or amended by a subsequent legislative act, any offense, as defined by the statute or act being repealed or amended, committed…”
State Ex Rel. Stewart v. McWherter, 857 S.W.2d 875 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1992). “Also, the petitioner contends that T.C.A. § 39-11-112, and its forerunner, T.”
State v. Pearson, 858 S.W.2d 879 (Tenn. 1993). “According to Tenn.Code Ann. § 39-11-112 (1991), when a statute is repealed, any offense committed while the statute was in effect shall be prosecuted under the statute in effect at the time of the commission of the offense.”
State v. Jordan, 116 S.W.3d 8 (Tenn. Crim. App. 2003). “1993); see also Tenn.Code Ann. §§ 39-11-112, 40-35-117(b).”
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