T.P.I. -- CRIM. 30.09

DESECRATION OF VENERATED OBJECT

            Any person who commits the offense of desecration of a venerated object is guilty of a crime.

            For you to find the defendant guilty of this offense, the state must have proven beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of the following essential elements:¹

[Part A:

            (1)  that the defendant desecrated a place of [worship] [burial];

and

            (2)  that the defendant acted intentionally.]

or

[Part B:

            (1)  that the defendant desecrated a [state] [national] flag;

and

            (2)  that the defendant acted intentionally.]

            "Desecrate" means defacing, damaging, polluting or otherwise physically mistreating in a way that the person knows or should know will outrage the sensibilities of an ordinary individual likely to observe or discover the person's action.²

            "Intentionally" means that a person acts intentionally with respect to the nature of the conduct or to a result of the conduct when it is the person's conscious objective or desire to engage in the conduct or cause the result.³

FOOTNOTES

  1.  Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-311(a).

  2.  Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-301(1).

  3.  Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-11-106(a)(18).

COMMENTS

            1.  Desecration of a venerated object is a Class A misdemeanor.  Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-311(b).