Byron Looper (born Byron Anthony Looper on September 15, 1964), is a former Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 in Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

. In order to advance his political career, he legally changed his middle name

Middle name

People's names in several cultures include one or more additional names placed between the first given name and the surname. In Canada and the United States all such names are specifically referred to as middle name; in most European countries they would simply be regarded as second, third, etc....

 from "Anthony" to "(Low Tax)". After being convicted for the October 1998 murder

Murder

Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...

 of his election opponent, incumbent Tennessee State Senator Tommy Burks

Tommy Burks

Tommy Burks was a farmer and Democratic Party politician in Tennessee, United States. He served in the Tennessee House of Representatives from 1970 until 1978, and in the Tennessee State Senate from 1978 until his murder in 1998.-Biography:Born in Cookeville, Tennessee, Burks was one of the most...

, he is now serving a life sentence in Morgan County Correctional Complex

Morgan County Correctional Complex

Morgan County Correctional Complex is a maximum security prison in unincorporated Morgan County, Tennessee, operated by the Tennessee Department of Correction. It opened in 1980. An expansion completed in 2009 increased its capacity to more than 2,400 prisoners. The prison is accredited by American...

.
Looper was born Byron Anthony Looper in Putnam County, Tennessee

Putnam County, Tennessee

Putnam County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2000, the population was 62,315, a 21 percent increase from 1990. The was 72,321, an increase of 16.1% since 2000...

, on September 15, 1964.

He attended the U.S.