Tennessee Code Annotated
Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-14-301 (2026)
Arson
✓ current as of May 2026
- (a) A person commits an offense who knowingly damages any structure or farm equipment by means of a fire or explosion:
- (1) Without the consent of all persons who have a possessory, proprietary or security interest therein; or
- (2) With intent to destroy or damage any structure to collect insurance for the damage or destruction or for any unlawful purpose.
- (b)
- (1) Arson is a Class C felony.
- (2) Arson of a place of worship is a Class B felony.
- (c) As used in this section:
- (1) "Farm equipment" means any farm tractor as defined in § 55-1-104(a), farm implement designed to be operated with a farm tractor, and motorized farm machinery used in the commercial production of farm products or nursery stock; and
- (2) "Place of worship" means any structure that is:
- (A) Approved, or qualified to be approved, by the state board of equalization for property tax exemption pursuant to § 67-5-212, based on ownership and use of the structure by a religious institution; and
- (B) Utilized on a regular basis by such religious institution as the site of congregational services, rites, or activities communally undertaken for the purpose of worship.
Amended by 2020 Tenn. Acts, ch. 810, s 2, eff. 10/1/2020.
Amended by 2020 Tenn. Acts, ch. 810, s 1, eff. 10/1/2020.
Acts 1989, ch. 591, § 1; 1991, ch. 19, § 1; 1997 , ch. 284, § 1.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 79
cases (8 in the last 5 years), 1996–2024 · leading case: State v. Lewis, 958 S.W.2d 736 (Tenn. 1997).
State v. Lewis, 958 S.W.2d 736 (Tenn. 1997). “Because we find that the word “structure,” as used in Tenn.Code Ann. § 39-14-301 (1991), means the entire structure, and because Lewis burned a portion of a single structure in the course of one arsonous act, only one count of aggravated arson can successfully withstand double…”
State v. Gann, 251 S.W.3d 446 (Tenn. Crim. App. 2007). “” T.C.A. § 39-14-301 (1997). “A person commits arson who knowingly damages any personal property, .”
State of Tennessee v. Benjamin Foust, 482 S.W.3d 20 (Tenn. Crim. App. 2015). “” Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-14-301 (a)(1). Also, as applicable to our review, it is an offense for a person to “knowingly damage any personal property, land, or other property, except buildings or structures covered under § 39-H-301, by means of fire or explosion .”
State v. Zeolia, 928 S.W.2d 457 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1996). “See Tenn.Code Ann. § 39-14-301(b)(1991). For each count, the appellant was sentenced as a range I standard offender to five years incarceration with the Tennessee Department of Correction.”
State v. Winningham, 958 S.W.2d 740 (Tenn. 1997). “Tenn.Code Ann. § 39-14-301(a) (1991). Clearly, both statutes contain elements which the other does *746 not; in fact, they have no common elements.”
State v. Franklin, 130 S.W.3d 789 (Tenn. Crim. App. 2003). “§ 39-14-301(a) (1991) (emphasis added). Determining that the key phrase “any structure” referred to the entire structure which contained the individual apartments, rather than to the individual component parts of the single building, the court held that the proper unit of…”
State v. Caldwell, 977 S.W.2d 110 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1997). “Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-14-301 states that “[a] person commits an offense who knowingly damages any structure by means of fire or explosion: (l)without the consent of all persons who have a possessory, proprietary or security interest therein.”
United States v. John Laton, 352 F.3d 286 (6th Cir. 2003). “§ 844 (i) (providing for a five-year minimum sentence and twenty-year maximum sentence under these circumstances), with Tenn.Code Ann. §§ 39-14-301(b)(l), 40-35-111(b)(3) (providing for a shorter three-year minimum sentence and fifteen-year maximum sentence under these…”
S. Trust Ins. Co. v. Matthew Phillips, 474 S.W.3d 660 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2015). “§ 39-14-408 (defining the offense of vandalism); § 39-14-301 (defining -the offense of arson).”
State v. Nelson, 23 S.W.3d 270 (Tenn. 2000). “The aggravated arson statute at issue in this case provides: A person commits aggravated arson who commits arson as defined in § 39-14-301 or 39-14-303 ... [w]hen any person, including firefighters and law enforcement officials, suffers serious bodily injury as a result of the…”
United States v. Mitchell, 218 F. Supp. 3d 360 (M.D. Penn. 2016). “§ 16-11-110 ; Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-14-301 ; Utah Code Ann, § 76-6-102; Vt.”
United States v. Carlos Fallins, 777 F.3d 296 (6th Cir. 2015). “*299 Tenn.Code Ann. § 39-14-301. Arson of personal property or real estate is defined as: (a) A person commits arson who knowingly damages any personal property, land,'or other property, except buildings or structures covered under § 39-14-301, by means of a fire or explosion:…”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-14-301(a) — 9 cases
State v. Lewis, 958 S.W.2d 736 (Tenn. 1997). “Because we find that the word “structure,” as used in Tenn.Code Ann. § 39-14-301 (1991), means the entire structure, and because Lewis burned a portion of a single structure in the course of one arsonous act, only one count of aggravated arson can successfully withstand double…”
State v. Winningham, 958 S.W.2d 740 (Tenn. 1997). “Tenn.Code Ann. § 39-14-301(a) (1991). Clearly, both statutes contain elements which the other does *746 not; in fact, they have no common elements.”
State v. Franklin, 130 S.W.3d 789 (Tenn. Crim. App. 2003). “§ 39-14-301(a) (1991) (emphasis added). Determining that the key phrase “any structure” referred to the entire structure which contained the individual apartments, rather than to the individual component parts of the single building, the court held that the proper unit of…”
State of Tennessee v. James Rodney Smith (Tenn. Crim. App. 2022).
State of Tennessee v. Angela Kilgore (Tenn. Crim. App. 2021).
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-14-301(a)(1) — 11 cases
State of Tennessee v. James Rodney Smith (Tenn. Crim. App. 2022).
State of Tennessee v. Benjamin Foust (Tenn. Crim. App. 2019).
State of Tennessee v. Mitchell Jarod Ford (Tenn. Crim. App. 2012).
State of Tennessee v.Michael A. Virga (Tenn. Crim. App. 2009).
State of Tennessee v. Terrance Patterson (Tenn. Crim. App. 2007).
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-14-301(a)(2) — 2 cases
State of Tennessee v. Antoine Dewayne Clark (Tenn. Crim. App. 2019).
State of Tennessee v. Theresa Hallsford (Tenn. Crim. App. 2002).
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-14-301(b)(1) — 2 cases
State of Tennessee v. Timothy Wayne Tidwell (Tenn. Crim. App. 2018).
State of Tennessee v. Otis B. Owens (Tenn. Crim. App. 2012).
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-14-301(b)(1991) — 1 case
State v. Zeolia, 928 S.W.2d 457 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1996). “See Tenn.Code Ann. § 39-14-301(b)(1991). For each count, the appellant was sentenced as a range I standard offender to five years incarceration with the Tennessee Department of Correction.”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-14-301(b)(l) — 1 case
United States v. John Laton, 352 F.3d 286 (6th Cir. 2003). “§ 844 (i) (providing for a five-year minimum sentence and twenty-year maximum sentence under these circumstances), with Tenn.Code Ann. §§ 39-14-301(b)(l), 40-35-111(b)(3) (providing for a shorter three-year minimum sentence and fifteen-year maximum sentence under these…”
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