Tennessee prison chief resigns, executions halted after failed Christa Pike execution
A manhunt is underway in Tennessee for convicted murderer Jacob Allen Morley, who escaped from prison while serving a life sentence. The search comes as Tennessee separately faces scrutiny over botched lethal-injection attempts involving death-row inmate Christa Pike, the resignation of the state’s prison chief and Gov. Bill Lee’s decision to delay executions through 2026 pending an independent review. UC Berkeley Law professor John Yoo is also examining the legal controversy as the Supreme Court prepares to begin its new term.
Authorities are searching for a Tennessee inmate serving life for murder after he escaped from the Northwest Correctional Complex.
The Tennessee Department of Correction said Jacob Allen Morley, 28, fled the prison in Tiptonville on Sunday. Morley was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted in 2025 of killing Cody Birchfield, who died three years earlier.
Correctional officers realized Morley was missing at approximately 11:30 p.m. Sunday, then launched an emergency inmate count and searched the facility, according to a Tennessee Department of Correction statement provided to News Outlet.
Security footage captured convicted murderer Jacob Allen Morley inside the Northwest Correctional Complex before his Sunday escape. Officials said the video shows him breaking through a prison fence. (Tennessee Department of Correction)
Video from the facility showed Morley climbing through a breached section of fencing while dressed in prison-issued clothing.
Morley is 5 feet, 11 inches tall and weighs about 240 pounds. He has brown hair and green eyes. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation warned that he should be considered dangerous and added him to the state’s most wanted list.
His convictions include first-degree murder, burglary, vandalism, evidence tampering and evading arrest.
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Jacob Allen Morley, 28, was serving a life sentence for the 2022 killing of Cody Birchfield when he escaped from a Tennessee prison Sunday, correctional officials said. (Tennessee Department of Correction)
State and federal law enforcement agencies are assisting in the search, officials said.
Birchfield vanished in early February 2022 after he was last seen in Elizabethton, Tennessee. Investigators with the Carter County Sheriff’s Office later found evidence suggesting that a “violent crime” had taken place inside his home, according to WJHL.
Morley was arrested March 2, 2022, following a police pursuit that ended near the North Carolina border. After his arrest, investigators discovered Birchfield’s body buried beneath Morley’s home.
Surveillance video shows Jacob Allen Morley, 28, inside the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville before his escape Sunday. The Tennessee Department of Correction said he was serving a life sentence for murder. (Tennessee Department of Correction)
Landree Sheperd, Morley’s former girlfriend, testified during his trial. She said Morley admitted at one point that “he f—ing killed him.”
Anyone with information about Morley’s location is urged to call 844-832-3463.
