(WBIR - Morgan County) On Sunday morning, workers with the Tennessee Department of Corrections volunteered for shifts to stand solemn watch over the the grave of Wayne "Cotton" Morgan at a small church cemetery in Morgan County. This marks 10 years since Morgan, a veteran corrections officer, was shot and killed during a daring prisoner escape at the Roane County Courthouse in Kingston on August 9, 2005.
Cotton Morgan was ambushed in the courthouse parking lot by the wife of an inmate he was about to transport to prison. The woman executed an elaborately-planned escape that led to a nationwide manhunt for the couple. Cotton Morgan's death and the search for his killers captivated the country and captured international headlines.
We look back at the tragic crime, the changes made during the last decade, and the devoted colleagues who keep the memory of a beloved fallen officer alive today.
UNCOMMON COTTON
The ceremonial gestures honoring Cotton Morgan did not wait for the 10th anniversary of his death. On Friday morning, blue balloons filled the air outside the Morgan County Correctional Complex near Wartburg. Ribbons and wreaths also adorned the lobby where workers filled glass cabinet displays with photos and belongings of the longtime prison guard.
The current prison was expanded and took over the duties of the nearby Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in 2009. The complex features some permanent tributes to Morgan, including its physical address. The Morgan County Correctional Complex is located on 541 Wayne Cotton Morgan Drive.
"Cotton was just a good man all the way around. He had an impact on everybody he came in contact with," said Shawn Phillips, a coworker of Cotton Morgan who was recently appointed warden at the Morgan County Correctional Complex. "He is still in our heart and prayers every single day. You don't ever forget someone like Cotton. You meet a lot of people in this world, but Cotton is one of those guys who stood out and you'll always remember."
Cotton Morgan spent his 28 years working at the now retired Brushy Mountain facility a few miles away on the opposite side of Frozen Head State Park. Cotton Morgan was just a couple of years away from retirement on August 9, 2005, when he worked a final fatal shift doing what he had done so many times before: transport inmates between prison and court.
DEADLY NEWLYWEDS
On Tuesday morning, August 9, 2005, Cotton Morgan and his coworker Larry "Porky" Harris escorted 34-year-old inmate George Hyatte to the Roane County Courthouse in Kingston. Hyatte was a career criminal already doing hard time for convictions of assault and multiple robberies. George was in handcuffs, shackles, and chains as he made an appearance in court to plead guilty to a separate burglary charge that would add to the existing 35-year-sentence he was already serving.
George's new bride, 31-year-old Jennifer Hyatte, was in the courtroom that day. George and Jennifer met behind bars when she was a prison nurse at the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville. Jennifer was dismissed from her job in 2004 and the couple were married in May 2005 by a chaplain at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution.
Larry Harris and Cotton Morgan met Jennifer Hyatte for the first time on the night of Monday, August 8, 2005. The guards transported George Hyatte to Loudon County for an evening meeting with his attorneys and wife. As George pleaded guilty on Tuesday morning, Jennifer stormed out of the courthouse.
Cotton Morgan was known as a compassionate man who guarded prisoners for decades, but never looked down on them. As George Hyatte became emotionally distraught, Cotton attempted to ease his pain.
"George [Hyatte] was even looking out the window when they decided to plea and he was tearing up and broken up," said Larry Harris during an August 2005 interview with WBIR. "Cotton was comforting him [George] and just talking to him. That's what makes it all so bad."
Just a few minutes later, the married couple Cotton Morgan had kindly tried to console would kill him.
PARKING LOT PLAN
Cotton Morgan and Larry Harris escorted a handcuffed and shackled George Hyatte back to the prison transport vehicle in the parking lot of the Roane County Courthouse in Kingston. Without warning, George suddenly shouted a deadly command.
"He hollered out 'shoot 'em!' We didn't even know she [Jennifer] was back there," said Harris.
Jennifer Hyatte was armed with a 9mm pistol she bought at a pawn shop and fired a fatal shot into Cotton Morgan's abdomen. She then fired at Harris, but missed. George Hyatte broke free from the guards and Harris returned fire. One of the shots from Harris hit Jennifer Hyatte in the leg, but did not stop the couple from speeding away in her Ford Explorer.
The Hyattes only drove five blocks from the courthouse when they ditched the Ford Explorer. Jennifer Hyatte had borrowed a minivan from an unwitting nursing patient, but had no plans of returning it. She parked the stolen van at the Subway sandwich shop around three blocks from Interstate 40. The wounded wife and her shackled husband parked the Explorer riddled with bullet holes, jumped into the gold Chevrolet Venture, and sped away towards I-40 without a trace.
While the Hyattes made their getaway, Harris tried to help his wounded partner.
"After they were out of my sight, I went to [Cotton] and talked to him. I tried to keep him focused. It was all I could do until the EMT came," said Harris.
Cotton Morgan was airlifted to UT Medical Center, but his wounds were too severe to survive. He died within an hour. Cotton Morgan was 56-years-old.
MASSIVE MANHUNT
Authorities knew Jennifer and George Hyatte made it to the interstate in a gold minivan, but had no clue where they were headed next. Investigators asked the public for any information that could help them get a fix on the fugitives, but warned people to not approach the Hyattes who were considered armed, dangerous, and desperate.
Law enforcement in George Hyatte's hometown in Rhea County positioned lookouts in case he sought assistance from relatives. Hyatte's family made a televised plea for George and Jennifer to turn themselves in.
"I want to tell my son, if you can hear me George, you give yourself up. Son, please, turn yourself in," said his mother Edith just a few hours after the deadly escape.
Jennifer and George Hyatte's plans did not involve a visit to Rhea County or surrender. The couple headed east on I-40 and then north on Interstate 75. The Hyattes drove four hours until they finally stopped 274 miles away from Kingston in Florence, Kentucky, just across the state line from Cincinnati.
Jennifer bought a hacksaw from the Lowe's hardware in Florence and then rented a room about a mile away at an Econo Lodge in Erlanger, KY. In addition to cutting George loose, Jennifer cut her hair and dyed it black to disguise her identity. The fugitives spent the night at the Econo Lodge and disposed of the gun and George's inmate jumpsuit in the motel dumpster.
The stolen minivan was now soaked with Jennifer's blood from her gunshot wound during the breakout. The Hyattes abandoned the vehicle at the motel and called a taxi for their next move to Columbus, Ohio.
COLUMBUS CAB CAPTURE
A Cincinnati taxi driver picked up George and Jennifer Hyatte and drove them two hours to Columbus, Ohio. The Yellow Cab driver said he was not initially suspicious because the couple had satisfied his main concern by paying the $185 fare up front. The driver said the only thing that seemed out of the ordinary was the Hyattes concocted a story about attending an Amway convention, yet the couple never tried to sell him anything during the two hour trip.
The cab ride ended at Americas Best Value Inn in Columbus where George and Jennifer checked into room 236-B. They watched television and ordered dinner from a Mexican restaurant. Their supper was stopped when they received a phone call to say they were surrounded.
The cab driver who hauled the Hyattes to Columbus recognized his passengers on the news later in the day. He contacted law enforcement and led U.S. Marshals directly to their motel door. Marshals and SWAT from Columbus quietly set up outside while other law enforcement occupied the rooms next door to the 236-B as they prepared to pounce in a potentially deadly capture. Then Marshals made the call for George and Jennifer to peacefully give themselves up.
The wounded and weary Jennifer Hyatte answered the phone. She agreed to surrender without a fight and George also complied. Jennifer was transported to the hospital and received treatment for the gunshot wound before being taken to an Ohio jail. After 36 hours on the run, George and Jennifer were locked up and scheduled for court in Columbus to be extradited to Tennessee on charges of first-degree murder. Jennifer Hyatte expressed shock when the Ohio judge made it clear that by returning to Tennessee, prosecutors could pursue the death penalty.
CLOSING THE BOOKS
In the Ohio jail, Jennifer Hyatte immediately put pen to paper to document her life story. She titled the memoir "A Modern Day Bonnie and Clyde." Hyatte's autobiography had a beginning, but no end. Officers at the Ohio jail found the manuscript and took it from her before it was finished.
While Jennifer weaved words with dreams of jailhouse fame, family and friends of Cotton Morgan were enduring a nightmare. The devoted husband, father of two, deacon at the local church, and veteran corrections officer was dead.
On August 11, 2005, the visitation for Cotton Morgan was moved to the local school to accommodate the massive crowd of mourners. A line of grieving friends, colleagues, and officers from as far away as Canada wrapped around the building to pay their respects. He was buried with full honors.
The legal process took a couple of years before the legal book closed on George and Jennifer Hyatte in 2007. They each escaped the death penalty by pleading guilty to first degree murder. However, both will die in prison because they were given life sentences with no possibility of parole.
CHANGES AND COMMEMORATIONS
A lot has changed since the shooting on August 9, 2005.
The Roane County Courthouse now features a secure "sally port" brick and metal garage to securely load and unload prisoners attending court. After 113 years of service, the old Brushy Mountain Prison where Cotton Morgan worked for 28 years finally shut down in 2009 and all operations moved 10 miles away to the new Morgan County Correctional Complex.
With all of the changes, one thing perseveres: the personal and professional devotion to Cotton Morgan's memory.
So many times, criminals and their crimes are romanticized and remembered while the victims fall into the footnotes of history. Not so for Cotton Morgan. There is no escaping the tributes to his legacy as a caring and dedicated officer of the law.
As previously mentioned, the road where the new prison is located was renamed Wayne Cotton Morgan Drive. Beneath the flagpoles at the entrance to the prison lobby, you'll find a marker in memory of Cotton Morgan. Employees collected donations and paid for the sandstone marker in 2012 to permanently salutes his service and sacrifice.
On Friday, the Tennessee Department of Corrections held a ceremony at the prison to mark the anniversary of Cotton Morgan's death. Each year, the prison fills the lobby with scrap books and photographs of Cotton Morgan along with a stack of saved newspapers to provide a glimpse of the media coverage surrounding his death. On Sunday, they stood watch in remembrance of Cotton Morgan at his grave site.
Cotton Morgan is buried in a hillside cemetery a couple of miles away from the prison. The elevated grave site provides an overlook of the beautiful hills he called home, as well as a distant view of the prison where workers continue to pay homage to Cotton.
The "end of watch" for Cotton Morgan came 10 years ago. Today traditions have been established for family, friends, and future generations to continue standing watch over Wayne "Cotton" Morgan's legacy. In doing so, they ensure his life of service and compassion remains chiseled in the consciousness of the community.
