Inmate’s escape is just the latest problem for Tennessee’s troubled prison system

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The weekend escape of a Tennessee inmate who was convicted of murdering a co-worker was just the latest black eye for the state’s troubled prison system, coming only weeks after the failed execution of Christa Pike.

Jacob Morley was last known to have been in Marion, Illinois, on Tuesday. Authorities say he stole a truck from a nearby farm after escaping late Sunday from the Northwest Correctional Complex near Tiptonville, Tennessee, and abandoned it Tuesday behind a strip mall in Marion, which is about 120 miles (193 kilometers) north of the lockup.

Police have been trying to determine where Morley went after ditching the truck.

Authorities haven’t received any credible tips that Morley remained in the Marion area or reports of other vehicles that have gone missing in the city since Tuesday, Marion Police Chief David Fitts said Wednesday.

Escape is latest problem at Tennessee prisons

Morley’s escape is the latest blemish for Tennessee’s prison system.

After the failed execution of Pike last month, Department of Correction Commissioner Frank Strada announced his resignation after less than three years on the job.

State Sen. Tom Hatcher said the resignation couldn’t come soon enough.

“We need new leadership,” the Republican from Blount County said. “We’re doing oversight work behind the scenes about several of our prisons. We’re just waiting to see who our next governor will be and who is the next commissioner.”

Lack of staff is a big problem

Understaffing is a big problem at Tennessee’s prisons, said Hatcher, who is the chairman of a legislative subcommittee looking into the prison system. He noted that Strada didn’t show up for the last oversight meeting, which happened days before Pike’s execution date.

During a subcommittee hearing, prison officials said they had 470 open jobs among their 6,000-person workforce. They also warned that a 2022 law requiring inmates to serve more of their sentences was increasing prison populations and could lead to overcrowding.

Prison leadership also isn’t transparent about problems and doesn’t accept oversight well, even though the problems repeat themselves, Hatcher said.

“Until we get someone who wants to look at all of this, we’re going to keep having problems,” he said.

A prison spokesperson said the agency was not commenting at this time.

The prison where the escape happened can be violent

The prison Morley escaped from has had several violent attacks between inmates and by employees in recent years.

District Attorney Danny H. Goodman Jr. is overseeing the prosecution of 19 cases stemming from indictments this summer at the Northwest Correctional Complex.

The cases include five inmates killed behind bars and assaults against staff and inmates. Former prison employees charged with aggravated assault are among the people named in 50 indictments.

Goodman said there is no evidence that Morley was involved in any of those attacks.

Staffing at the isolated prison, which is about 90 miles (145 kilometers) from Memphis, Tennessee, has been a major problem, Goodman said, noting that although he suspects that understaffing could have contributed to the escape or the violence, he doesn’t have any proof.

“There is a huge shortage of staff there,” Goodman said. “The ones that are there, they have to work so much. It’s not unusual for them to have to work double shifts.”

No sign anyone helped Morley escape

There’s no evidence yet that anyone helped Morley escape, but the investigation is ongoing, Goodman said.

Authorities said Morley, 28, slipped through a fence in his prison clothes late Sunday night before walking to the nearby farm and stealing the truck. He is white, 5 feet 11 inches (1.8 meters) tall and weighs 240 pounds (109 kilograms). He has brown hair and green eyes.

Morley is serving a life sentence for killing co-worker Cody Birchfield in 2022. Birchfield’s body was found in a box under Morley’s home after he had been missing for a few weeks. The two lived in Carter County, in eastern Tennessee.

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Collins reported from Columbia, South Carolina.