Byron Looper's Election Assassination

In October 1998, Tennessee politician Byron "Low Tax" Looper murdered his election opponent, State Senator Tommy Burks, to clear the way for his own win. Burks died days before the vote, leaving Looper as the only name on the ballot. Voters rallied behind a write-in campaign for Burks's widow, Charlotte, who defeated Looper in a landslide. A jury convicted Looper of first-degree murder in 2000, and the court sentenced him to life in prison.

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