Peter Turney

Who was Peter Turney?

Peter Turney was an American politician, soldier, and jurist, who served as Governor of Tennessee from 1893 to 1897. He was also a justice on the Tennessee Supreme Court from 1870 to 1893, and served as the court's Chief Justice from 1886 to 1893. During the Civil War, Turney was colonel of the First Tennessee Regiment, one of the first Tennessee units to join the Confederate Army.

As governor, Turney ended the state's controversial convict lease system and enacted other prison reform measures. His second term was marred by the 1894 gubernatorial election, which he won only after the state's Democratic-controlled legislature threw out thousands of votes for his opponent, Henry Clay Evans.