The Oak Ridge trial could be the first death sentence since Tennessee suspended executions in 2022

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) – An Anderson County jury is currently deciding whether to sentence an Oak Ridge man to death for the rape and murder of a 36-year-old woman. If the jury calls for the death penalty, Sean Finnegan will be the first person sentenced to death in Tennessee since 2021.

Previous reporting: Jury announces verdict in Oak Ridge death penalty trial

Even if Finnegan were sentenced to death, it is not yet known when he would be executed. This is because executions are currently suspended in the Volunteer State.

The state suspended executions in 2022 and ordered an independent investigation that found that the drugs used in lethal injections had not been adequately tested. That suspension came shortly after another suspension during the COVID-19 pandemic and has since left more than 40 people on death row with no idea when their executions might take place.

If Finnegan faces the death penalty, he would be the 46th person on Tennessee's death row. He would also be the first person sentenced to death since the death penalty was suspended. Steven Wiggins was previously convicted of first-degree murder in August 2021.

Previous reporting: Execution freeze in Tennessee until 2022 could take longer

At the other end of the spectrum is Larry McKay, who was sentenced to death for murder in early 1983. He has been on death row for over 41 years and has still not been executed.

McKay, Wiggins and the other 43 death row inmates live in a maximum security prison. More specifically, death row inmates are subject to three levels of supervision: A, B and C.

Offenders start at level C and can move to level B after 18 months depending on their behavior. They can also advance to level A.

Advancing to the higher ranks offers death row inmates more freedoms and privileges. For example, only Level A inmates are allowed to do the few jobs available to them. Advancing to the higher ranks also grants inmates things like phone and visitation allowances.

According to government guidelines, all death row inmates wake up at 5:30 a.m. They are offered three meals a day during the week and two on weekends and holidays.

All death row inmates are housed at the maximum security Riverbed prison, with the exception of the only woman on the state's death row, who is housed at the Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center in Nashville.

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